Dun dun dun!  The kitchen can be a bathhouse for germs and bacteria.  As a matter of fact, improper cleaning or cross contamination can cause some serious health issues.  As a prior salmonella victim, I take all precautions to make sure my kitchen sink, stove, and counter top are wiped clean after every meal I prepare (and sometimes before I prepare just to be safe).  Here are some tips from silive.com in protecting you and your family from falling ill.

Sponges
It’s best not to buy them. Unless you plan on …

I spray the inside of my kitchen trashcan with Lysol disinfectant spray every time the garbage bag is replaced. As clean as my trashcan is (or so it seems), there are certain foods that can turn my recently sanitized trashcan into a harbinger of noxious odors, and I always end up throwing away a new garbage bag with barely anything in it.
For me, the culprits are disposed apple peels, apple cores, raw chicken parts, and the foam tray the chicken meat is placed in.  The disposed apple parts, especially the …

Image: chefscatalog.com
I was a victim of salmonella poisoning in the sixth grade. These days, I don’t take any chances and I keep my kitchen countertop and sink area as clean as I can. I don’t ever want to go through that experience again!
When I’m finished with cutting chicken, or any kind of meat on my cutting board, I immediately give the board and sink area a good cleaning and rinsing. After that, I go boil a pot of water and pour it over the cutting board …

Aside from the trashcan, the sponge is probably the other most bacteria-filled item in the kitchen. You can play bacteria crowd controller by throwing the sponge into the microwave for two minutes on high heat. Doing so will kill 99% of the bacteria that is colonizing on the sponge.
Here’s some advice:

Only microwave sponges that are steel-free and metal-free
The sponge should be wet and free of excess detergent. If there is too much detergent, it can get stinky.
Heat the sponge for at least two minutes, reheat for another …