Recently, Reddit user u/HEADAs66 asked, "What is the most common hygiene mistake that people make?"
People had a lot of insight to share, so here are the most important reminders:
1. "Fellow pierced folks, CLEAN YOUR GODDAMN PIERCINGS. This INCLUDES your jewelry! God, the amount of stinky cheese piercings I've smelled walking past someone is far too high. Even after the initial healing, you gotta still CLEAN them regularly. At the bare minimum, rinse and rub them in the shower. I take out my actual jewelry every couple weeks and give it a good clean."
2. "A lot of people do not regularly wipe off or sanitize their earbuds, phone, or keys."
3. "Not enough people clean their belly button."
4. "Most people don't realize that dishwashers and washing machines have filters that are supposed to be cleaned regularly. The dishwasher one is particularly important because there is a screen filter that catches food particles and is always wet. The first time I cleaned the filter on our several-year-old dishwasher after learning this, it was horrific. I was retching the entire time I was cleaning it. It made me want to re-wash every single dish in the house."
5. "A mistake lots of people make is assuming hand sanitizer is as effective as hand washing. Some things have to be physically removed with soap and water."
6. "Using too much detergent or fabric softener is a mistake. It will actually trap dirt and smells into the fibers if it doesn't rinse clean."
7. "Wearing shoes all around the house is a common one. A lot of shoes track in fecal matter from the street."
8. "Most people don't periodically sanitize their door handles. It’s one of the most common places where bacteria lives."
9. "People tend not to change their toothbrushes often enough."
10. "Many people over-exfoliate the skin. With the rise of skincare, I see people exfoliating every day, and it makes me itch. The vast majority of people do not need to be exfoliating that much, and it’s likely doing more harm than good."
11. "Using too much deodorant or not thoroughly cleaning it off actually makes you smell more over time."
12. "A large amount of people do not scrub their butt crack when they shower."
13. "Many people don't brush the lingual surface of the teeth. It is the side closest to your tongue. As a dental hygienist, I see tartar buildup there the most. Also, a lot of people don't angle their toothbrush toward their gums when they brush them."
14. "Not washing your sheets and pillowcases regularly is a mistake. They harbor bacteria and body oils, and can really aggravate your skin and cause breakouts."
15. "It’s better to wash your body after washing your hair! You can get body acne if you don’t rinse off the shampoo or conditioner from your skin."
16. "Don't use mouthwash that contains alcohol too often. It can dry out your mouth and kills the good bacteria as well as the bad."
17. And lastly, "Put the lid down on the toilet before flushing to prevent particulates from contaminating surfaces."
Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.