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Home health: in the bathroom
When giving your bathroom its spring clean, remember to do more for your medicine cabinet than wash the mirror.
You should take everything out of it to ensure a thorough inside scrub, as well as give you the opportunity to examine its contents.
Check all products for expiration dates, things like sunscreen, bronzing creams, hair colour, vitamins, some ointments, even some deodorants, have best-before dates and should not be used afterward.
Prescription and non-prescription drugs are also dated. The best way to dispose of these, as well as expired vitamins or supplements, is to return them to your pharmacist.
Throw out used razor cartridges and disposables.
It’s also a good idea to get rid of anything that has just been there too long. If you remember seeing that jar or tube or bottle this time last year and you still haven’t used it, odds are excellent you never will.
Around the sink, start by replacing your old toothbrush. This should be done every three to six months, as well as after a cold or flu. In a communal bathroom, toothbrushes belonging to people who are sick should be kept away from the brushes of those who aren’t. It’s also a good idea to keep tooth brushes at least five feet away from the toilet bowl to avoid fecal contamination.
Avoid bar soaps and use pump dispensers for communal soaps and lotions. Assign individual wash cloths and towels rather than share these. A system of labelled hooks or colour coded linens works perfectly.
In the makeup drawer, use the same take-everything-out strategy and clean the drawer and any dividers or containers from there.
Next, wash the brushes and any reusable puffs. A good makeup brush can last 10 to 15 years but should be washed with gentle soap or shampoo at least once a month to prevent build-up of residual fungus.
Throw out used sponges, disposable puffs, applicators and wands.
Powder blushes, shadows and foundations can last indefinitely but this is a good time to get rid of any that are broken or no longer used.
Cream and liquid foundations usually have an expiration date, so check this before putting it back in the drawer. Depending on how frequently these are used, shelf life is usually well in excess of the modest supply.
Modern lipsticks can expect to last two years but you should examine them for beading moisture or a rancid smell, which indicate the presence of a fungus. Dispose of lipstick immediately if you think it may be off. It’s also recommended you dispose of any lipstick, lip balm or lip gloss that has been shared: cold sores are highly contagious and the virus can still be present even if there is no tell-tale blister.
Mascara and eyeliners should be disposed of every three to 12 months, depending on frequency of use. Because of the eye’s sensitivity, these products should never be shared: it is too easy to transmit a cold, sty or pink-eye. You also need to dispose of these products if you have any of these infections as there is the potential to re-infect.
If you are disposing of eye pencils because of suspected contamination, remember to throw out sharpeners as well.