ORLANDO, Fla. – Get to cleaning and help your pet out!
For being the item with the fourth highest concentration of germs in your house, you're probably not cleaning your pet's food bowl nearly often enough.
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According to apartmenttherapy.com, pet bowls can contain numerous bacteria, including salmonella, E. coli and staph.
And unless you want your furry friend eating off nearly the equivalent of a kitchen sponge, you should clean your pet's bowl. Every. Single. Day.
The website, citing an AKC vet, said pet bowls should be washed in hot, soapy water. They should then be air-dried to avoid contaminating towels.
The vet said pet owners should consider using a stainless steel or ceramic bowl. Plastic bowls should be avoided, he said.
In addition to daily cleanings, you should sanitize the dish once a week using a 1/4 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water ratio.
Now go take care of Fido and Kitty, and happy washing!
Here are the top 10 household items with the most germs, according to the National Sanitation Foundation: