to think we need to knock the bacteria bothering on the head?

[OtraCosaMariposa]

So unless you've been living under a rock we all know that single use plastics are bad, too much air travel is bad and that we're killing the planet with "stuff".

Just as important is the fact that bacteria are becoming resistant and that we haven't the new antibiotics to fight them. I know a lot of this si down to misuse of antibiotics, people not finishing the course or keeping old medication and popping it when they feel off colour. But I also think a lot of it is down to the sheer range of "anti-bacterial" products on sale.

The latest advert which really gave me the rage was for an anti-bacterial carpet cleaner, think it was Vax, which droned on about did you know how much BACTERIA there is in your carpet accompanied by pictures of children playing on the floor. Just like the "ewww, bacteria on your washing!!" adverts.

Do we really need to nuke all bacteria out of existence? Or do we collectively not need to chill out a bit, stop the paranoia about germs/bacteria and go back to basic cleaning with soap and water??

Anti-bac is banned in this house.

Totally agree OP, it’s fucking ridiculous.

The thing that really gets me is antibacterial wipes. They are wrong on every single level. What is the thinking behind buying these?

Which soap do you use? How do you clean your toilet?
Yanbu with carpets.

Yanbu, it's a ridiculous hysteria about cleanliness. Normal soap and hot water will kill most dangerous bacteria without contributing to antibiotic resistance.

Plus things like antibacterial wipes are useless, they won't kill bacteria unless left on bacteria for at least a minute, swiping them over surfaces just makes people feel better.

I use Method bathroom for the loo. And vinegar.

There are no bleach or antibacterial products in my house.

We use ordinary bars of soap in the bathroom. In the kitchen I have a bottle of the Waitrose ginger and orange handwash as it smells so lovely, but when that's finished soap will be going in there too. We do have a bottle of bleach for cleaning the loo but it is uses very very sparingly and a bottle lasts over a month. All other kitchen cleaning is done with ordinary washing up liquid and hot water.

Never bought an anti-bac wipe in my life. Dreadful idea.

I must admit that I am a fan of the washing machine anti bac stuff. This is because I am a slattern and I often forget can't be arsed to remove my washing promptly, and it really does prevent it smelling. However, I completely agree with you on all other counts.
I don't understand the bleaching your loo nightly, I wipe my counter tops with hot water and a cloth.
Homes aren't meant to be sterile. In fact the only time I go nuclear is if one of the children gets D & V.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge about bacteria will be along shortly but isn't it true that even if your house is struck by norovirus or something, cleaning with soap and hot water is just as effective?

Can honestly say I've never given bacteria on the carpet a second's thought. It's not like we're eating our dinner off it. And the washing comes out of the machine and dries on the line... where it probably gets covered in thousands of millions of bacteria from outside.

I was watching a program once, I think it was This Morning, where some ‘expert’ was reccomended you replace - not wash or clean - but replace your pillows every year very OTT in terms of cleanliness and ridiculous in terms of waste - imagine if everyone in the world actually did stuff like that and cleaned everything/threw away everything as often as these ‘experts’ reccomended. It would not be sustainable in any way.

Agree completely. This may (not an expert) contribute to the number of allergies being experienced too.

I love my wipes

Use a steam cleaner, no products just electric & water, love mine.

I love my wipes

that's a helpful comment.

I use antibacterial anything that will kill pseudomonas, apart from that I'm not all that arsed, my DH it's a germphobe though so our house I'm afraid is full of bacteria nuking chemicals.

I love my wipes

Even though they’re terrible for human health AND the environment?

Yanbu I don't understand the paranoia about bacteria! I don't use any 'anti-bacterial' products in my home and clean using vinegar, citric acid, soap and bicarb. My kids have had a d&v bug once and my eldest is 7 with two younger siblings. I found the cloth nappy thread interesting recently, where there seemed to be a lot of people panicking about poo in their washing machines!

We are not meant to live in a sterile environment, bacteria are beneficial to our bodies. There is evidence that the increase in excessive hygiene has caused the increase in many immunity related conditions (asthma, allergies, etc). There is further evidence that imbalance in gut bacteria can lead to problems with weight gain and even Parkinson's disease!

YANBU.

The human body is largely composed of bacteria but you don't see the obsessive cleaners drinking bleach yet

We do have a bottle of bleach for cleaning the loo but it is uses very very sparingly and a bottle lasts over a month.

That's not very sparingly used bleach. Our bottle has lasted 18 months so far. Buy an eco friendly toilet cleaner and ditch the bleach.

Apart from that, OP I totally agree with you. My inlaws have packs of anti bac wipes.... Why?!

There are plenty of studies that suggest a link between over enthusiastic cleaning/bleaching/air freshening etc and allergies/auto immune conditions.

I absolutely agree with you OP.

There's also altogether too much frantic bathing/skin scrubbing/repeated showering. Google 'skin biome' - you can now buy products to replace the good bacteria that you are assiduously removing every day (and if you read MN bath/shower threads - sometimes three times a day!)

No bleach here, no wipes, no hysteria. We are all well and happily living alongside good bacteria.

@genome I clean similarly to you and we are rarely ill. I have friends who are cleaning obsessed and have all sorts of health problems and are sick all the time. I'm sure the 2 are linked.

you don't see the obsessive cleaners drinking bleach yet

Don't give people ideas.

Of course there are dangerous bacteria and if you live with someone who has some immune system condition you might want to take a lot more care than the rest of us. Understandable.

But for the huge majority of the rest of us, there's no need to try to clean all bacteria out of your home. Impossible task anyway, and pointless.

The human body is largely composed of bacteria but you don't see the obsessive cleaners drinking bleach yet

Someone should tell them about faecal transplants...

Showering three times a day? How do you find the time!? No wonder people are constantly posting about being so busy - they're either in the shower or cleaning their carpets.

I know the bleach isn't great and once the bottle is done I'll explore alternatives. But in the regular cleaning threads there are people often boasting about getting through a bottle each day. Their homes must smell like swimming pools.

I very much agree, antibacterial stuff is banned in this house too. I just use ordinary soap and water. If you wash your hands properly then it’s just as good.

YANBU.

We are a walking cesspit of bacteria anyway www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.sciencealert.com/how-many-bacteria-cells-outnumber-human-cells-microbiome-science/amp

Definitely agree that over cleaning is NOT good for our kids immune system health.