When you think about the dirtiest place in your house, you probably think about the toilet, right? Surprisingly, there are way more germ-infested places throughout your household than your toilet. This especially true if you're a dog owner.

If you feed your dog dry food, you probably don't think to wash his bowl too often, I know I don't.

Pet food bowls are actually one of the most germ infested places throughout your entire house. This is because dry foods actually do leave residue, and are the perfect home for mold and yeast. These can both result in bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella living in the food bowls.

It is incredibly sad thinking that our pups are licking these mold-infested bowls covered with all this bacteria. It's not just our dogs that are affected. These germs can cause illnesses in both animals and humans from just being exposed to the bacteria.

This information was found when a study was done by NSF International. They examined 30 everyday items from 22 different households, and pet food dishes ranked 4th in the final list of germ hot spots. The top three were kitchen sponge/dish rag, kitchen sink, and toothbrush holder.

It seems like common sense now that I hear that they would grow bacteria if we don't wash them. We wash our own plates, even if we only eat dry food so why don't we wash theirs?

This is easily preventable we just need to treat our pets dishes as if they are our own. You should start washing their food and water bowls daily, either in a dishwasher or with soap and hot water.

You should also sanitize the dishes every week by soaking them in a gallon of water with a half-teaspoon of bleach for ten minutes. You may also want to buy a stainless steel or ceramic bowl. Plastic ones can crack easily, giving germs an easy place to hide.

Your dog's bowl doesn't have to make everyone sick, wash it properly and make the toilet the grossest place in your house once again!