Good heavens no!! I use wooden cutting boards for everything and wash them with soap and water. No deadly illnesses so far - 70 years and counting. I read somewhere that wood is a natural anti-bacterial so they just need washing, not disinfecting. I also use the dish rag to wipe down the counters, and a spray cleaner once in awhile. KISS is my motto :-)

I'm sure that the bacteria police will chime in, but so be it.

I bleach my butcher block island every so often. I don't cut on it, only use it for rolling out bread/cookie dough, so it usually doesn't have anything too dangerous on it. For cutting fruits and veg--I use a plastic board that can go in the dishwasher to be thoroughly cleaned. When I cut raw meats, I use disposable cutting boards so that they can be used and tossed immediately. The formica counters get wiped down with the disinfecting wipes. And often are cleaned with baking soda. If you're worried about using toxic chemicals, baking soda is a great cleaner for many surfaces in your home--it's non-toxic, non-abrasive, CHEAP, disinfects, bleaches out stains (I've even gotten grape juice and Koolaid out of white formica with it) and it makes quick and easy work of burned on grease in your frying pans. I buy it in 5 pound bags, because it's so useful in the kitchen.

I've gotten away from buying loads and loads of different cleaning products--as mentioned, I use baking soda for a lot of things. For others, I use bleach (it's actually a very good, very effective cleaner, properly used)--it's great for cleaning the toilet and diluted with water cleans other bathroom surfaces. For other uses, I just use dishwashing liquid--fill a bucket with hot water, add a tablespoon or two of DW liquid and I get my floors, woodwork, cabinets, etc sparklingly clean. For windows and mirrors, rubbing alcohol does a great and inexpensive job. Bar Keeper's friend does a fantastic job polishing my brass handrail, and scouring the bathtub. I've sort of made it a rule to stop and think--what would my grandmother have used--when considering buying new products. Generally, the answer is a simple and effective one.

The one caution to always remember when using cleaning supplies, is to NEVER mix them. Well, we all know that, but keep in mind never to even mix them on a surface. My BIL was cleaning, found one cleaner wasn't doing the job, so he switched to another--and ended up in the hospital, with heart failure. The fumes stopped his heart! Luckily, the kids were home and immediatly called 9-11. BIL made it, but he now has a pacemaker, and a healthy respect for using cleaning products safely.

On the other hand, a study conducted by the CDC determined tht on average there are more germs on the average kitchen counter than there is on the toilet seat...go figure....LOL

I use alcohol quite a bit in the kitchen, leaves a shiny surface on the stove, gets grease off and disinfects.

well right now i can't get my dishes done, let alone the counters! dh replaced the pipes, and yet another leak today! this time the water landed in my dw tablets container and thanks be a butter tub we had...sure glad i have a cotton rug that soaks up well!

i do like to use a disinfectant esp in the area we prepare food...but don't have any wood cutting boards anymore (use dw safe plastic)

I use lots of baking soda, too, and wipe the sink and counters, then rinse and dry. One thing I've been trying to do--every day--or at least every other day--is to use a fresh dish rag and dish towels. I have plenty of both of them.

Putting the dish rag in the microwave for about a minute is a way to kill germs, but I usually forget to do it.

I remember as a girl in the 1950s that there weren't all these cleaning products. We did not even have dish detergent. Mom kept a container of Tide or other laundry detergent under the sink for dishes. A dishrag dipped in the soapy dishwater was used to wipe down the kitchen table and counters. We had scouring powder for scrubbing the old sink, and when Comet with bleach showed up in the stores, we thought it was great.

I have become a convert to a spray cleaner I make with 1 bottle rubbing alcohol, then I put in the same amount of water and a drop of liquid dish detergent. I clean counters, butcher block, windows, mirrors, etc with it. I use a plastic or acrylic cutting board for onions, and I put that in my dishwasher.

Sheilajoyce - that looks almost like the same cleaning recipe I've been using on my granite counters and other surfaces. I use a one quart spray bottle, add 1/4 to 1/2 isopropyl rubbing alcohol, 1 teaspoon dish detergent (usually Dawn) and then add water to the fill line.

One of the advantages of this solution is that it's not an acid, it's neutral which makes it safe for granite and other stones.

I usually use a cleanser that is vinegar based and one that is bleach based. I use dishwasher safe plastic cutting boards but I usually spray them well with a bleach spray and let them soak prior to DW. I always run my DW with the sanitize cycle on.

I wash the cabinets down with a Magic Eraser. I clean the counters with a dishcloth, but often I'll spray them down with bleach. I clean the floors with a steam cleaner which is supposed to kill all the germs without using anything but really hot water. I also use a Magic Eraser made for glass stove tops to clean my stove. Thankfully, the oven cleans itself!

I use the KT spray recipe that was posted here for the whole house.

2 cups water
3 TBS vinegar
1 TBS dish soap
1 TBS borax

No wooden cutting boards for me.. Just plastic that will go into the dishwasher. I use the Lysol Kitchen Spray on the counters.

I like Mr Clean Erasers for smudges, etc...
I also use Lysol a lot....
Lemon Pledge helps shine the island and counters
after cleaning..(Formica butterum granite etched pattern)

I use a 50/50 alcohol and water to clean our granite countertops.

A squirt of Dawn on a magic eraser-like cleaner with a scrubber side to clean my stainless steel sinks.

All of the stainless steel surfaces get a light rub with a microfiber cloth lightly sprayed with WD-40 to take away any streaking. It's works like magic.

I use Murphy's Oil Soap to clean the cabinets.

Wood floors get a dose of Bona floor cleaner and a swipe with the Bona floor care system mop.

Jodi-

I have white cabinets so I wipe them down every day using an antibacterial wipe usually after I have done my dishes. I have animals too which is why I use the antibacterial wipes. I use a wooden cutting board for bread, washed fruits and veggies and wash it in the dishwater after I do the dishes. I have a plastic cutting board for chicken and another for meat which I bleach after using which isn't very often. I have another plastic board for cutting veggies and if the veggies stain it I just toss it in the bleach water when I bleach my teacups and coffee mugs to ge the stains out. I often put a little bleach - less than a cap full in my dishwater when I do the dishes but again mostly to get tea and coffee stains out of my mugs.

I use a brush for doing my dishes but keep a dish rag on hand to wipe down the counters and kitchen table. I don't use any spray cleaners except for when I clean my windows.

Anne

Like you, I clean up with the dish cloth after doing the dishes. Works GREAT for me.

Moni

I like the micro fiber cloths and the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I use bleach in a dish pan if I want to hurry up and freshen the cloths. Plastic cutting boards that go in the dishwasher or sometimes the bleach. I do have great big wooden ones, but seldom use those.

Sue

I use alcohol for every thing having to do with cleaning, including an 8-oz. bottle in my scrub bucket. I have done it this way for years.

Once a week, after I use my alcohol and water to scrub the floors, I go back over them with Mop and Glo, to give them a shine.

I usually wipe down the counters with a sponge, then finish with windex and a microfiber cloth.
Those of you who use alcohol and water - what kind of alcohol -meaning what concentration?

Jodi-just cleaned the stainless steel dishwasher and my kitchen trash can with WD and a microfiber cloth. You rock!!!!

Just a CAUTION: Remember not to mix bleach with dish liquid (most of them) they will react to the chlorine and cause toxic fumes. Be sure and check the label!

I always thought it was ammonia and bleach you should not mix.

Sue

The second ingredient on my bottle of Palmolive Anitbacterial is "ammonium C12-15 pareth sulfate" and on the bottom of the label it clearly reads in bold letters "DO NOT ADD BLEACH"! I believe that perhaps some dish liquids are OK with bleach but be sure and read the label first.