CNY is just around the corner and that means its spring-cleaning time! You've no doubt been cleaning your home all this while all year long, but this is the one time you really get into the act. This is the one time you'll put your full back into scrubbing everything clean. It's also the one time that will make you realize just how dirty your home is. Here are 9 ways you didn't know your house was trying to kill you all this time.

1. The Kitchen Sink

Always clean up after!

Believe it or not, but your kitchen may just be more contaminated than your bathroom. Researchers found evidence that an average kitchen sink can harbor about 100,000 bacteria per square centimeter. If you think that's little, compare that to your bathroom which has 100 bacteria per square centimeter.

The simple reason for that is we clean and disinfect our toilets more often than our sinks. So when you're busy cleaning your home, don't forget to pay a lot of attention to the sink drain. Food that gets stuck there can introduce dangerous bugs like E. coli and almonella.

Disinfect your sink more often, and not just when it comes to festive seasons. Please. We beg you.

2. Your dish sponge

So Spongebob probably is very, very germy.

If your kitchen sink was a germ-fest, then your dish sponge is part of the party. The damp environment of your sponge is perfect for germs to grow. In some studies, sponges and dishcloths have been found positive for influenza and Salmonella. They're not clean despite not looking dirty!

To avoid this, just make sure you replace your sponge more often than not. And throw those towels in for a wash. And just be glad you're not doing the dishes at someone else's house.

3. That bathroom hand towel

The smell is unbearable.

Some people have hand towels in the bathroom, because you don't want to wipe your wet hands (assuming you're the type to wash them after your business) on your clothes. Like sponges and sink drains, germs love moist environments. You really don't want to wipe fecal or pee on a towel, and then let someone else do the same.

Our suggestion: just use towels that are for single use. Do not reuse!

4. That bar of soap

So you're done with number 1 or number 2, and mommy always told you to wash your hands after. She's got the first part right. What she didn't know and didn't tell you was that bar soaps can end up collecting germs and people like you and me don't really think about that. After all, shouldn't soap be..like...clean? Erm..no.

If you don't want a germ fest, then just use liquid soap.

5. Your washing machine

You do your laundry all the time, and something that washes your clothes should generally be clean too right? After all, isn't there lots of soap and water in there? But soap doesn't rid those things. That's why you need to dry them. They're actually covered with fecal matter...that smells kinda nice because..soap!

Wash your hands after you transfer your laundry, and don't touch your face or put your hand in your mouth, if that's your thing.

6. Your bed

Don't let pets on the bed too, no matter how cute they look.

You've got clean sheets. So what's the big deal, right? Wrong. There are tons of things you can't see with your eyes. And that is germs. Lots of them. There may even be bugs on it too, because, you do go out right? You sit on chairs in public places, and you might just be bringing home a critter or two with you. These insects are hosts to organisms that cause hepatitis B and Chagas disease.

Sun your bed more often. And don't jump into bed with clothes you wore when you were out.

7. Your computer / laptop

Seriously, lots of nasty gunk here.

Welcome to where every single filth that comes from you gathers. We're at our computers all day long, and even if its for home use, there's bound to be a very very high chance that it's filled with dead skin, hair, and yes, germs. And for comparison sake, here's an interesting bit: a public toilet bowl contains 41 germs per square inch. Your keyboard has 21,000 germs per square inch. Omfg indeed.

Disinfect often, at least once a week if you're lazy. And if you haven't done so before, be prepared for the ultimate shock when you go ahead and clean it.

8. Your humidifier

It's a germ party!

It's hot outside. It's CNY after all, it's supposed to be hot. You've got the A/C cranked up on high, and you've also got a fancy humidifier because who wants to breathe in hot stuffy air? Not you, or your guests we're sure. But know this: if you don't clean your filter properly, the humidifier can become a repository for scary shit like legionella and other pathogens that cause respiratory infections.

So thank goodness for CNY, because you're finally taking that filter out for a wash.

9. Your doorknob

No, you don't have to destroy your door knob.

Germs like to travel like you and me. Their wanderlust is beyond comprehension. And their mode of transportation is through your filthy hands. So a doorknob would be like a transit center where most of them just hang out and hop on the next hand. Know this very scary fact: viruses can survive for days on a doorknob.

To avoid this, you either get someone to open the door for you all the time, or constantly clean that thing all the time. It's a cumbersome thing to do, but do you like them germs on your face or in you, perhaps?

Our solution for this is impractical, but we'd install automatic face recognition sliding doors in our home if we could (afford them).

In short, anything dirty is a safe haven for germs to thrive, grow, rave all night long. But it doesn't have to be that way. And it sure as heck doesn't have to be something you only do once a year just to show relatives and friends you've got a really GD clean place. Happy cleaning and Happy Chinese New Year.