7 Ways You Probably Didn't Realize You Accidentally Eat Mold At Home
And no, it's not by eating that moldy block of cheese in the fridge.
Krakenimages.com | Shutterstock No matter how hard we try, it seems that our homes are never quite clean enough — at least, not by germophobe standards anyway. We've all heard those statistics about how the typical doorknob is dirtier than the average toilet, and seen those retch-inducing black-light videos in hotels. However, according to one cleaning expert, there's a far more insidious and unlikely source of yuck lurking in our homes.
Mold could be silently spreading throughout your house without you even realizing it, and worse than that, you're probably eating a bunch of it unknowingly. Turns out you are basically eating mold all the time, constantly, and no, we're not talking about a delicious roquefort (or that block of cheddar you cut the mold off of this morning because you're too cheap to buy a new one, a random example I pulled out of nowhere that bears no resemblance to my actual life).
According to Julia Hunt, a parenting and homemaking content creator, there are tons of unexpected places in our homes where mold is likely growing without us realizing it, and ending up directly in our mouths!
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Now, before you panic, while extensive black mold in your house is a huge health threat, eating it accidentally here and there is highly unlikely to be a problem unless you're downing it in huge amounts. Case in point, the fact that we probably all have these sources of mold feeding us spores every day, and we're all here living to tell (or read) about it. Still, Eew! So, here are seven spots in your home likely harboring mold and how to get rid of it for good.
1. Using fridge water and ice
When's the last time you cleaned the water lines in your fridge's ice maker and water dispenser? Never? Exactly. But where there's standing water in a closed system, there's often mold spores, so it's a good idea to clean these out periodically. White vinegar is a great way to do so.
2. Water from shower heads
Okay, so most of us aren't opening our mouths wide and sitting under the shower head, lapping up that delicious bathroom water or whatever. But it DOES get in your mouth, and, once again, closed systems plus standing water eventually equals mold. Taking your showerhead apart periodically and cleaning with a vinegar solution keeps this from happening. Hunt suggested soaking the parts for 20 minutes, then scrubbing them clean.
3. Using an unclean coffee maker
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Your coffee maker sits on your counter all day, every day, closed up and full of condensation, and you know what that means. Once a month, run it through its normal coffee-making cycle with a pot filled with half water and half vinegar, then run it again with plain water to rinse. Not only will this get rid of the mold spores, but your coffee will taste better, too.
4. Using dirty water bottles
All those seals and lids and straw holes get real nasty, real quick, and often washing them out can't quite get to the bad parts. Hunt suggested buying a bottle brush and using a bit of baking soda to get in and scrub the various crevices to keep nasty stuff from growing.
5. Cleaning with old kitchen sponges
Listen, they stink for a reason, and it's because they're full of bacteria, including mold spores. A hot tip I learned from that one neat-freak friend we all have: 60 seconds in the microwave will kill everything growing in a damp sponge, making it stink. But they should also be replaced a lot sooner than most of us probably do. Hunt advised every two weeks.
6. Not cleaning your blender all the way
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Much like your water bottle, all those seals and gaskets in a blender are perfect places for mold and bacteria to grow. Unless you want a side of mold with your smoothie, you need to be taking that blender apart and cleaning each piece, not just rinsing it out or throwing it into the dishwasher intact.
7. A dirty toothbrush holder
Unless you and whoever you're sharing that holder with are meticulous about it, the bottom of that cup probably has some water in the bottom, and that can get real gross, real fast. So listen, mold mouth: Wash that cup. Every week. Don't be gross!
Follow these steps, and you'll either have a blissfully mold-free home or develop a full-on phobia that has you scrubbing every inch of your home with mildew remover at three o'clock in the morning because the fear of mold has kept you up all night. But hey, it's better than a dirty water bottle!
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
