How to Clean Your Cutting Board

The recent salmonella outbreak from ground turkey has food safety front and center in the news again. It also raises the old debate about how to disinfect food preparation surfaces in the kitchen to prevent cross-contamination. One of the most important things is to properly clean your cutting board.

I personally use wooden cutting boards.  I keep two in my kitchen.  If I am preparing meats, they go on one board, and “not meat” goes on the other board.  I do the same with my cutting knives.  Now, I am not some germ-phobic person, this is just the common sense way I was taught to cook many many years ago by my mother. It also makes it much easier to clean your cutting board when you know what has been on it.

There have been some interesting studies about the safety of wood versus plastic cutting boards. Consumer Reports has a good article that states research shows that either wood-cutting boards or plastic-cutting boards can be safe.

I wash my boards in much the same fashion as described in the study, with hot tap water, a sponge, and dishwashing soap.  Instead of using sodium hypochlorite (regular bleach), I use Vital Oxide, which is a much safer antimicrobial spray.  Instead of using sodium hypochlorite to kill, it uses chttps://allergystore.comhlorine dioxide.

It won’t take the color out of my dishrags or kitchen rug if a little splash on it.  Also, Vital Oxide doesn’t have the harsh bleach smell and won’t cause respiratory problems the way bleach can.  But it sure does kill bacteria and viruses.  Although the FDA has approved Vital Oxide for a “no rinse” application around food surfaces, I still rinse the boards after I have sprayed them down.

I guess old habits die hard.

Til next time

Pollen Allergy and Cats

Had an interesting conversation with a customer a few days ago about pollen allergy and cats.

This woman had several cats.  She is not allergic to cats.  However, she started having a problem that seemed to be caused by the cats.  They had no problems with regular cuddle time or sleeping with her.  She had no allergy symptoms after these activities. However, when she let the kitties out in the morning and then brought them back in later, she noticed that she couldn’t pet them without sneezing and getting watery eyes.  She started trying to connect her pollen allergy and her cats.

She wondered if the cats could possibly bring in mold spores (she is highly allergic to mold) or pollen (she is allergic to pollen) on their fur.  Of course!  Pet coats are perfect for collecting mold spores and pollen.

That is why we always recommend keeping pets inside on windy or high pollen count days. We know the connection between mold and pollen allergy and cats.  Did you?

She inquired if there is a cat allergy spray she could use to take care of the “not-cat” allergens that were collecting on the cats.  Of course!

Allerpet is not a spray, but it is perfect for taking care of these and any other allergens on the cat.  It is also a great coat conditioner.  Not only will you have an allergy-free cat, but you will have a shiny cat as well.

The same goes for dogs.  If your dog goes outside, it will bring those outdoor allergens inside.  Rover can spread pollen and mold all over the house.  Allerpet works for dogs as well.

So don’t blame cat allergy if the cat makes you sneeze.  It might just be something the cat is wearing.

Til next time!

Everybody Has a Concrete Floor

The first time I ever heard about someone staining the floors in their home was about 15 years ago. We had a friend that didn’t like the carpeting but could not afford to replace it with tile or wood.

Susie’s solution was to rip out the carpet and stain her floors. Up until then, the only stained concrete floors I had seen were in warehouses and garages.

Fast forward to today and it is everywhere. I now see it in homes, restaurants, and stores. It’s easier to take care of and in most cases cheaper than tile or wood floors.

We have been telling our customers that carpeting is not a good thing to have it when you have allergies. No matter how clean it looks it still holds all sorts of allergens including pollen, dust, grass, and dust mites. I believe staining is a nice alternative that should be considered.

Anyway here are a couple of videos I ran across on Youtube while looking for more information. The first one just confirms what we already know. The second one is step-by-step instructions.

Video – Controlling Allergens With Concrete Floors

Video – DIY Concrete Staining: How to Stain Concrete Floors

Wishing you the best of health

Mike Krause
AllergyStore.Com
800 771-2246