A Guide On When To Make Disposal Of Daily Utility Items

With the evolution of technology and development of new materials & techniques; our daily life is getting more easy and easy, yet more complex and complex. We now depends on many utility and necessary items, which once wasn’t part of our life at all.  Similarly the same concept of evolution applies on germs too. With increasing dependency on synthetic or artificial materials for intimate, sensitive and daily use, the likelihood of germs interaction is increasing too. We are more prone to advance viruses than any time before.

We daily buy utility items for home with the expiry date label on them, but not all items have expressive expiry date on them. Due to this very reason people tends to use those things more than their deserving useful life. But these retarded items can harm us with bad body experience or with harmful germs. This is a list of household items you didn’t realize had expiration dates and limited useful life. Taking care of regular usage items can help us avoid interaction with dangerous viruses like Corona.

Here we are listing some day to day items which has limited or specific useful life. This guiding list will not only help you improve hygiene and personal health, but also will help to maintain eco system around:

Towels:

This daily interactive very important piece of fabric, mostly don’t come with expiration warning. But it certainly has a limited usage, which we recommend must be of 1 to 3 years maximum. To maintain long term cleanliness, always wash your towels before they become damp, smelly and rigid.

Long term usage of expired towels can create rashes, skin allergies and scratches. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use organic and natural fibre towels with proper cleaning & washing routine and proper disposal plan.

Pillows, Bedsheets & Quilt Covers:

Pillows, bedsheets and covers mostly used under damp environment with less interaction to day light. Therefore, a clear routine of proper cleaning and sun heat drying must be there to avoid nourishment of bugs and germs. These items must be used for 1 year to 3 year maximum, based on fabric material. Natural and organic fabrics serves us the most natural way but artificial fabrics mostly have long life. Pillows should be replaced regularly to avoid issues such as neck pain as well as bugs such as dust mites.

Toothbrush:

For proper mouth health and hygiene, toothbrush must be made of non-toxic plastic or materials. Toothbrush must be disposed off every 3 months, or sooner. If the bristles start to look like a messy hair do, Also, immediately after colds, flu or any viral or infectious disease; it must be disposed off.

Masks:

Masks and face shields are now the must have for day to day public interaction. Expiry and disposal of face mask depends on what type of mask you are wearing. If it is disposable mask then it must be disposed off after every medical use, after every public interaction or maximum after every day. If you are using KN or N series safety face masks, then they must be replaced or disposed off after 2 to 3 day use. Reusable fabric masks considered to be not so effective, but yet if you are using something like this, then these must be disposed off after one week to 2 week time. Provided, these must be wash and sanitize daily.

Sponge:

Sponges mostly use in kitchen and washrooms. We use them for utensils cleaning and for skin treatment like in make up or during bath. Sponges can get stuffy and lose their softness and absorbency with time, therefore, must be replace every 2 weeks. Sponges are even worse than sleepers as they can become a breeding area for mold and fungus. While shopping sponges always try to prefer reliable brands which made things from non-toxic reusable materials.

Slippers:

Slippers we mostly use during home time and during washroom or bath time. These plastic made items have a tendency to get germs which causes fungus infection. Hence must be replaced every 6 months. Slippers are ideal for catching and spreading fungal infections, so you should also wash them often. These also can damage posture and can swell ankle, if slippers got slippery and less frictional with time.

Hairbrush:

Try to keep personal comb or hair brush. There is no concept of shared hair brush anymore. As hair brush carries harmful bacteria and dust. Combing accessories must be replaced after every 3 months. You should also clean your brush every week. Don’t use shared brushes and personal items. How sensitive this accessory can be? In fact, in 2013, the University of Arizona, America discovered that hairbrushes house an average of 3,409 bacteria colonies per square inch compared to bathroom sinks (2,733 colonies) and pet food bowls (2,110 colonies).

Perfume or deodorants:

Chemical based items must be kept under suggested environment for better and long term use. 1 year to 3 year maximum. Non sealed perfumes usually last up to 2 year maximum. Consideration of expiration is necessary because, these liquid can become harmful and can damage skin or can leave stains on clothing piece.

Pacifier, Feeder Nipple and Teeth Soother:

Kids are the most sensitive creature and always required utmost care. Therefore, all related kids items requires utmost hygiene, care and maintenance. Most of kids items come in latex material for kids safety purpose, due to elastic and soft flexible nature. But germs love latex which is why pacifiers, nipples and soothers should be regularly replaced. These regular use items must be replaced within 2 weeks to 5 weeks maximum.

Under Wears:

Undies are the most intimate piece of fabric to wear, therefore, these must be organic, soft and comfortable. Underwears like BRA, Boxers, Vests or tights wear off over time and they can create rashes and itches on skin, if not replaced on time. These items must be replaced in 1 year to 2 year time.

Plastic Grocery & Utensils:

After plastic revolution, we are living in plastic age now; where parts of heavy machinery to home utensils to kids toys all are made of plastic. This did added convenience in our life but it also does created environmental hazard with complex non-decomposable ingredients. But continuous use is also not recommended due to germs prone nature of non-organic substances. Plastic water bottles should be disposed off maximum after one season, and mineral and distilled water bottles should be disposed off after 2 to 3 days continuous use. Avoid polythene bags while shopping, instead use canvas, fabric or non-woven fabric shopping bags.

Sneakers:

Sneakers are the integral part of street wear casual fashion. These are mostly 4 season in nature. But due to high performance nature, their late replacement can create serious foot damage. Therefore, these must have to be replaced after every year. Worn out sneakers put extra pressure on the joints too.

Hydrogen Peroxide:

These chemicals are the important parts of our daily life. But due to liquid chemical nature; firstly these must be kept under very protective environment, secondly must be disposed off after every 2 months. Non sealed hydrogen peroxide turns into normal water within 2 months.

Children’s Car Seat:

One of the important child safety accessory. Firstly, such seats must have safety belt, secondly it must can be attached to car safety pin. These equipment and seats have useful life of 6 year to 10 years. Cars seats become less and less safe over the years. Therefore, child car chairs must be replaced after useful life.

Air or Safety Bags and Fire Extinguisher:

Air bags in vehicles don’t have any fix expiry date or range, but it is highly recommended to keep check on inflatability and functioning from authorized vendors, time to time.

Further, fire extinguisher do have expiry date on it. These must be refilled after expiration. Time to time fire protection drills and usage of old equipment is highly recommended, especially in populated places.

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