Tips to help stop bathroom germs

Color code hand and bath towels

It might seem like a stupid idea but each family member will know which towel is theirs. Each time you dry yourself off, are depositing germs on your towel. Just a skin flake can contain bacteria. They may not be sick but it can affect you. If you don’t want to color code, use a waterproof marker on the labels. Not only do you prevent someone from using your towel but you don’t make the same mistake.

Never share toothbrushes

Make sure everyone has their own toothbrush and the best way to identify them is by colour-coding. You can simply buy toothbrushes in different colours. Here’s why: every time you brush your teeth, you remove plaque and particles. Sometimes you press too hard and your gums bleed. Any bacteria you have in your mouth, is deposited onto your toothbrush. It becomes contaminated. Replace your toothbrush each time after you’ve been ill because you will get infected again. Remember that germs survive a long time. The best practice is to store toothbrushes roughly 1 inch from each other. This prevents germs from spreading from one toothbrush to another.

Flush your toilet with the lid down

Flushing your toilet with the lid up is like setting of a flare. The water vapor that erupts from the flushing bowl is polluted and it takes several hours for these particles to settle. Do not store your toothbrush openly near the toilet as it gets contaminated by the particles.
Clean high-touch surfaces

Clean high-touch surfaces

A high-touch surface is something you use your hands on. The bathroom has a lot of them. These include the taps, door handles, toilet lids, bath handles and your towel rack. Any high-touch surface carries a lot of germs. Use a disinfectant spray or anti-bacterial wipes. These will kill the bathroom germs living on your surfaces. Rhinoviruses that cause cold can actually survive for up to three hours. So when you are sick, make sure you disinfect your bathroom.

Use a paper cup dispenser

A plastic or ceramic cup can spread a lot of germs. The fact is that a few people in the household probably uses the same cup. Your best defense it to keep a paper cup dispenser in the bathroom. This allows everyone to have their own cup and dispose of it when they are done. It might be a bit expensive but you stop people from infecting each other when they are sick.

Choose functional tissues

There are loads of different types on the market today and the latest is virucidial tissues. These tissues actually kill germs as soon as you use it. Blowing your nose or coughing into it can help to stop the spread of germs. These viruvidial tissues may be expensive but it depends on the manufacturer and store.

Wash your hands after you do your business

This may be second nature but people forget, especially children. You should always wash your hands after coming into contact with any body fluids such as blood, nasal secretions and vomit. This applies when you are visiting the toilet, changing diapers and of course, after you clean any area of the bathroom.

Scrub the inside of the toilet bowl

The toilet bowl actually has a lot of germs. Make sure you clean it a couple times a week with products that contain bleach. The bleach actually kills the germs and also leaves your toilet clean and ready to be used.

Let the water run before you shower

Bathroom germs can grow in shower heads. It might not seem possible but as soon as you turn off the water, they become active and easily multiply. Let your shower run fully on hot water for about a minute or two. This will flush out the germs before you get in.

Scrub showers, bathtubs, and counter-tops

Bathroom germs grow in your showers, bathtubs and on your counter-tops as well These should always be cleaned to reduce the spread of viruses, fungi and bacteria. Do it at least twice a week with a disinfectant product that contains bleach. You can easily get more germs if you don’t clean your bathroom because they enter through the mouth, nose, eyes, and broken skin or just about anywhere they can. Your overall load of bacteria can increase and you may get ill with a cold, infections or viruses. This can be because you didn’t clean the bathtub, got in and touched your mouth or even get into the tub with a cut or an open wound. You’re always in danger of being infected, especially when you are already sick.

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Prefabricated shower surrounds and fancy imported tiles are undoubtedly good looking but they are very expensive and often too pricey for most of us to afford. That does not mean you cannot have a great looking bathroom for just a few rands. It does not matter what the cost or quality of the materials are. Your shower wall will either look well made or very bad depending on the amount of time and effort you put into the project. One of the main points is appropriate attention to detail.

Broken Tile Mosaic

You can visit construction sites, tile shops and DIY stores and ask them for free broken tiles. Be creative and try out a few designs on a scrap piece of wood or paper. When you are happy with your design, use it as a guide to install the broken tiles on the shower walls. If your shower walls are not waterproof, you can use cement-fiber board as a subsurface. Leave at least about 1/8 inch between pieces so you could grout between them.

Pebbles

You can use a technique similar to laying tiles to create a shower wall that reflects the seaside or a river’s edge. Instead of broken tiles, build a mosaic of interesting, small, polished river pebbles. Use a sand-colored grout between each pebble to resemble the beach or a riverbank. If you want to make it more interesting, intersperse seashells or beach glass. This whole project is free to collect, except the tile glue and grout. If you cannot collect your own pebbles, purchase pebbles from a quarry or pebble tiles that already attached to a backing for easy installation.

Galvanized Sheet Metal

If you want super cheap but durable shower wall, you could use ordinary galvanized steel roofing. It is easy to install, horizontally or vertically, with ordinary screws and rubber washers to prevent leaking around fasteners. It comes in many lengths to suit different ceiling heights, and you can cut it with tin snips or drill with ordinary metal bits or hole saw for installing fixtures. Coat it with a clear sealer to keep it bright and shiny, or allow it to oxidize naturally for a mellow rust effect. If it rusts too much, replacement is cheap and easy as well.

Stained Glass

Like broken tiles, broken glass is a resource often overlooked or disposed of. Set clear or colored glass pieces with white tile adhesive that dries to allow the colors to show at the best they can. These techniques works equally well with broken mirror pieces. With a little bit more effort, you can use a glass cutter to cut pieces to interesting shapes before installing them for added appeal. A dark grout between colored pieces of glass, will give it a stained glass effect.

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Different types of bathroom tiles:

Vinyl bathroom Tiles

Vinyl tiles are probably the most popular bathroom flooring material out there. It has a low cost, high degree of durability and it is very practical. These tiles are well-suited for every bathroom in the house. It beats other popular choices for safety, comfort and durability. Over the years, vinyl tiles have come a long way i aesthetic appeal and ease of installation. The material is self-adhering and it can be cut by a utility knife. These bathrooms tiles are very easy to get and most suppliers will have them.

Ceramic and porcelain bathroom tiles

These tiles might be very beautiful, whether you love stone, wood, patterns or shocking colours. Ceramics score high with regard to maintenance but they are not as comfortable to the bare foot as vinyl. Installing underfloor heating might help to change that, but hard is hard whether or not it is nice and warm. These tiles are also more difficult to install than vinyl but it is a job you can tackle yourself, if you don’t mind struggling a bit. When they are protected with a high-grade glaze, they will resist wear and scratches. Porcelain tiles are harder than clay-based tiles and they may have through-body color, which helps when they chip.

Plastic laminate bathroom tiles

Plastic laminate tiles are also a good choice, especially when you are renovating your bathroom. It is quite similar to the laminate material that covered kitchen countertops, but they do not significantly raise the height of the existing floor. This makes it easier to plan transitions from room to room. While these bathroom tiles are durable and easy to clean, they cannot handle a lot of moisture. Standing water can gets into the fiberboard core and causes the material to expand and buckle. When you are using laminated plastic, you need to caulk gaps along the walls, around the and surrounding the fixtures so that water cannot get it. Another problem is that laminates do not come in the same variety of styles you will find with ceramics and vinyl.

Stone bathroom tiles

Stone tiles were once used in the foyer of various buildings. In the past decade, they have become popular in other rooms as well. These are made from limestone, marble, granite and slate. They can be purchased in a variety of colours that range from cream, to blue, red, green and gold. There are also a variety of textures such as cleft, tumbled, sandblasted, etched and flamed. Stone tiles do require more maintenance than ceramic tiles. It is recommended to regularly cleaned and seal them. As for the price, they vary and they are also more expensive than similar-looking ceramic or porcelain bathroom tiles.

Wood bathroom tiles

Wood is only for those who don’t care. Once water gets through the finish, it will stain forever. When the bathroom tiles are installed, the wood parquet tiles must be carefully sealed around the room perimeter and at all other joints. Two coats of polyurethane must then be applied as protection.

Linoleum bathroom tiles

Linoleum is made out of linseed oil, cork powder, wood flour, ground limestone and pigments. It is best used in contemporary or retro styles and it is well-suited to the bathroom. It is touted as naturally inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and being able to repel dust and dirt, while retaining its colour. Click-in-place plank designs makes these bathroom tiles very easy to install and it also looks great. Linoleum is a bit expensive though.

Cork bathroom tiles

Cork is a warm touch and very easy on the bare foot. These tiles also come tinted in a variety of colors. The installation process is fairly easy. If they are unfurnished, you need to protect them with two coats of polyurethane. Normally, cork tiles are installed with a troweled-on adhesive, but they are also available in click-in-place floating floor tiles.

Glass bathroom tiles

Glass floor tiles are about as different as you can get with your choice. These tiles are durable if they are installed properly.Textured glass tiles can resist slips. Small glass bathroom tiles with lots of grout joints are also slip-resistants. The aesthetic appeal can be good for two reasons. Covering the floor in a thin layer of class, creates the illusion of depth. If the glass is tinted, you get a beautiful stained-glass effect. Prices and stock will vary according to supplier.

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