The Real Cost Of Bad Hygiene & How To Fix It!

We unpack how simple hygiene habits cut illness at home, work, and public events. From the five second myth to hand drying and food safety, we share clear steps that lower risk across seasons.

• germs surviving on hands for hours
• five second rule debunked
• twenty second handwashing technique
• why drying hands reduces spread
• food safety and cross-contamination
• high-touch hotspots at desks and on phones
• seasonal risks at events and travel
• ear infections from swimming and bathing
• restroom habits and post-pandemic changes
• hospital-acquired infections and prevention
• everyday products that support hygiene
• access, culture, and practical resources

There will be a link down below for more resources
If you want some merchandise from our store at Fruit Planners Podcast, there will be some merchandise out there, so click that link below as well

Sick days steal time, energy, and joy—yet many can be prevented with a few steady habits. We open the door on real-world hygiene: how long germs survive on our hands, why the five second rule is a myth, and the overlooked power of proper hand drying. From crowded summer festivals to winter flu waves, we map the small actions that make a big difference for families, coworkers, and anyone sharing space.

We walk through twenty-second handwashing that actually works, the role of sanitizer between sinks, and why damp hands spread far more germs than dry ones. Food safety gets a clear-eyed look: instant contamination on dropped food, cross-contamination in kitchens, and how to choose cleaner sources and smarter storage. Workstations and devices become quiet germ hubs, so we share quick cleaning routines for desks, phones, keyboards, and shared tools that cut risk without disrupting your day.

Water exposure matters too. We explain how ear infections rise after swimming or bathing when water lingers, plus simple steps to protect ears at pools, beaches, and hot tubs. On the respiratory front, we break down how routine hand hygiene reduces infections and why cough etiquette and pocket sanitizers shine at events. Even hospitals, with all their protocols, see avoidable infections—proof that consistency beats complexity. We also address access and cultural differences, offering practical ways to build better habits with the tools you have.

If you’re ready to trade guesswork for simple, effective routines, this conversation gives you a clear path. Subscribe for more practical wellness insights, share this episode with someone who needs the reminder, and leave a review to tell us which habit you’re upgrading first.

Transcript

Why Hygiene Matters Year-Round

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good night, wherever you are and however you are listening. Welcome to Fruit Blenish Podcast. Our main subject and title for this episode is hygiene. Good hygiene is essential, particularly in the winter to avoid unwanted colds and flu viruses. As well as the other cold months, summer can also have its hygiene downfalls. It costs businesses an average of 1.3 billions of sick leave each year, which can be more easily avoided if better hygiene practices were enforced. Germs survive longer than you may. Yes, longer than you may think. Did you know that germs can survive for up to three hours on your hands? Consistent hand hygiene is essential to clearing your hands of germs. Even germs caught up to three hours ago. Get the low down on germs. Bacteria and viruses to learn exactly how illnesses can be avoided with good hygiene standards. The five second rule. Is there such a thing? Let's think about it. There's actually no such thing as the five second rule. When it comes to dropping food on the ground, bacteria is ruthless. It needs no time at all to contaminate your food, making you feel unwell. Always avoid food eating off the ground. Your forevision and census can determine when and where is the germ located, which is everywhere. Your floor care may be however dirty from outdoor shoes that can attract more bacteria than you think. Wash your hands for twenty seconds each time. The average person washes their hands after going to the toilet for six seconds, even though we should be spending at least twenty seconds cleaning our hands. Proper hand washing is the one and most effective methods of getting rid of harmful germs and bacteria. The last thing you want at any time of the year is an unnecessary illness that could have been avoided in the first instance with good hand hygiene. Bacteria is everywhere. There are between two to ten million bacteria on your fingertips and elbows. Effectively wash your hands by scrubbing all the way to your fingertips. Who knew your elbows also carried so many bacteria too? Who? Who knew? Encourage and educate your employees, staff members, and loved ones on good hygiene habits all year round to prevent the spread. Be wary of the food you buy. Did you know seventy percent of all foodborne illnesses originate during food services operations? Yikes. You can trust every food source if they have organic products. You can't trust every food source you buy your food from, even groceries. Human error is a huge factor to contaminating food during the production stages. Ensure your food fuel from a trustworthy source with no potential contamination. If the food is being produced organically, then there's a low percentage of collecting bacteria. Food service establishments can minimize cross-contamination by following safe and effective hygiene practices. Wash your hands before eating. Women's desks have been found to harbor three to four times more germs than that of their male coworkers. A study has shown that women's desk and equipment such as phones and keyboards was far from germ-infested. It was more. Okay. Alright. Alright. That's nasty. That is nasty. Wash your hands when you use the toilet. After you use the restroom, wash your hands. It's not that difficult. Didn't your mama teach you better? Ugh, that's crazy. That is crazy. Your health and hygiene should be a priority so you can enjoy deserved time off, which closes, you know, family and friends. Inside within your boundaries. The cold and flu season is upon us. It is. I mean, but summertime is, you know, here, so basically, yes. Everyone will be outside at events, social, you know, places, carnivals, everywhere, concerts everywhere. Forty percent of people don't wash their hands after sneezing, coughing, or blowing their nose, especially with seasonal flu lurking around the coronavirus, and that can spread. It can. During COVID, many people were isolated, but still ensure you that you must always wash your hands during any season. Every cough and sneeze, wash your hands or carry around a pocket-sized hand sanitizer that's easily accessible, which helps to reduce hand bacteria by 99.9%. Hand drying is also important. It's important too. Your hands spread thousand times more germs when they are damp than when they are dry. Information on the importance of sufficient hand drying is often missed out. However, it's an essential component to good hand hygiene. Ensure your hands are dry and not damped to avoid spreading a thousand times more germs. Ear infections. Ouch! Ooh! Hundreds of thousands of people in the US and the UK acquire outer ear infections each year due to contaminated water remaining in the ear after swimming or bathing. We're sure you can agree there's nothing worse than earache. Keep your ears healthy and ready for beautiful carols, concerts, music, family gatherings, and friends. This season, summertime is coming up. Winter time is not away. I mean, after May, June, July, August, time goes by fast. So always be ready. Always be ready for the seasoning and the holidays and celebrations coming up. Be ready. By ensuring your bathing and showering water is clean and uncontaminated. So that's why you shower before you get in the pool, or you shower after you get out of the pool. Hot tub. The beach, the ocean, the lake. Always shower. Make sure your water is clean. I mean, yes, some water is not fresh, but and we still dip our bodies in and we still try to swim and have a good time. Make sure you're safe. Hygiene. Clean yourself. Make sure you're clean. How to reduce the risk of respiratory infections? Hand washing can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by 16%. Toilets. Oh yikes. Did you know 38% of men and 60% of women don't wash their hands after going to the toilet? True. That's for real. Like a lot of people, many people don't wash their hands. Like we discussed before, it's just disgusting. It is disgusting. However, since the pandemic, more and more people are washing their hands more effectively to avoid the risk of illness. Whoa. After COVID 19 revealing how hand hygiene practices are using the toilet had improved throughout the US and the UK. It's a shame we need the pandemic to make change to our hygiene habits. That is save the population with hand washing hygiene practices. All it takes is 20 seconds multiple times throughout the day to save the lives of many across the globe. Across the globe. It's all about health and wellness. A little hand hygiene doesn't hurt anyone, but the lack of it does. Hospital Sanitation. One in twenty five hospital patients catch an infection that could be avoided with better sanitation. You would think or expect hospitals to have good hygiene measures under control. However, there's always room for improvement. With the hospital full of vulnerable, sick patients avoid any further illnesses by improving general hospital sanitation. The importance of soap, body wash, shampoo, and hand washing soaps. Deodorants. So everyone knows to shower. Wear a deodorant. Brush your teeth. Have some perfume or cologne in hand, or with you at all times, or before you go home, put some on and brush your teeth. Hygiene is super important with your friends, family, co-workers, your staff, your team, and when you're going to school, your classmates, students, for everyone, it's important to have hygiene. It's super important. I understand that not many people around the world practice hygiene, especially within like different cultures, different groups, you know, different um different like just practices within just uh the world. Like not a lot of people practice hygiene, but it is super important. I know some countries, some level of areas around the world don't have the proper um tools or the prep the proper equipment or the resources, but still hygiene must be practiced. Maybe, maybe, maybe, just maybe. They have their own way of you know dealing with hygiene, body odor, um, breath, bad breath. Maybe they have different ways, but still, hygiene is important, and just um in my experience, we uh, or at least my generation, or everyone's generation, we all experienced you know, many times on how hygiene uh just you know pops up into our lives whether we hit it at a different age or a certain age, like um, for example, uh puberty comes with hygiene, um uh with body odor, you know. So uh yeah, we all experience that you know at a different age when we were young or are young, whoever is out there. Um but yeah, hygiene still must be practiced. It must be practiced. So make sure you are brushing your teeth, wearing deodorant, um, putting on your favorite cologne or perfume, lotions, all of that must be, you know, practiced. Although I do understand that not everyone has the proper tools, supplies, equipment, resources on how to practice proper hygiene, whether it's within ourselves or our surroundings. There will be a link down below for more resources. So if you want some resources on how to practice proper hygiene or learn more about bacteria and germs, click that link below. And if you want some merchandise from our store at Fruit Planners Podcast, there will be some merchandise out there, so click that link below as well. Anyways, thank you for your time. I appreciate you. You are appreciated. Yes, you sit in standing up right there. You are appreciated. Thank you all so much. I love you all. I will see you on the next episode.

unknown 20:26

Thank you.