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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Courtney Pochin

Cleaning guru shares grim mistake people make with their sponges after each use

When cleaning the house many people will use a cloth or sponge to wipe over any dirty surfaces to remove bacteria from the sides.

But often the materials they use to do the cleaning with will be forgotten.

Research scientist, Trond Møretrø, who has been working at a Norweigan food research institute, previously spoke to CNN about sponges and clothes, claiming that harmful bacteria such as salmonella are prone to growing on them as they are used every day and rarely get dry.

As such, you might actually find that by completing your household chores you are actually doing more damage than good.

Your sponges can harbour lots of bacteria (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Møretrø recommended binning your sponges, but cleaning gurus from Zoflora have shared their top tip to help banish bacteria from them instead.

Speaking to The Mirror, an expert from the brand, which is known to be a favourite of cleaning influencer Mrs Hinch, said: "Dishcloths and sponges can harbour potentially harmful viruses and bacteria.

"Getting into the habit of leaving your dishcloths and sponges to soak in diluted Concentrated Disinfectant (1 capful for every 400ml water) at the end of the day will not only leave them hygienically clean and fill the room with beautiful fragrance for 24 hours but also save you having to repurchase new cloths on a regular basis."

The experts recommend disinfecting your cleaning cloths (Getty Images)

This comes after the cleaning pros also shared their advice on how to remove stubborn grease from inside your microwave.

They claim that all you need is a bowl of water and slices of lemon - and the zingy fruit can be purchased individually for just 25p from supermarkets like Sainsbury's.

To get your microwave looking good as new and nice and "hygienic" once more simply place the bowl of lemon water instead and turn the microwave on for three to five minutes.

Once that's done, remove the bowl of water, turn off the microwave, and wipe down the inside with a cloth and an antibacterial cleaning spray, like Zoflora's Multipurpose Cleaner to ensure you've "killed any and all bacteria and viruses".

To then keep on top of the job, you can regularly wipe the microwave down during the week with antibacterial cleaning wipes, or your trusty cloth and spray.

Do you have a cleaning tip or trick to share? We want to hear all about it. Email courtney.pochin@mirror.co.uk

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