Wash your hands. That’s a common mantra — and a worthy one.

But all the hand-washing in the world may not be a match for the germs and viruses lurking on household surfaces.

Here are the six germiest places in your house, according to John Oxford, who heads the Hygiene Council and is a professor of virology at St. Bartholomew’s and the Royal London Hospital, and Joe Rubino, another member of the Hygiene Council and director of research and development in global surface care and protection at Reckitt Benckiser.

1. Kitchen cloths and sponges

People frequently use sponges or cloths to wipe germs from surfaces in the kitchen. As a result, 70 percent of kitchen sponges in U.S. homes failed the hygiene test by having high levels of bacteria, according to the Hygiene Council. The council recommends running sponges through the dishwasher regularly and washing kitchen cloths on the hot cycle in the washing machine.

2. Kitchen faucets

Typically people wash their hands after handling raw meat in the kitchen, but they touch the faucet to turn on the water and do not think about the bacteria that they leave. The Hygiene Council found more than half of faucets in American homes are covered in bacteria. Use a disinfectant spray on faucets to kill germs.

3. Tub and shower

Rubino identified the shower as the third germiest place in the home. The bathtub may have 100 times more bacteria than the trash can, according to an in-home bacteria study conducted by the Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community at Simmons College in Boston. The Hygiene Council recommends that showers and tubs be disinfected twice a week.

4. Pet food dish

Most pet food dishes stay on the floor and do not get washed regularly. Rubino says, “It’s not practical to disinfect it every time, but wash your hands after you touch it. Pets — we love them — but they don’t practice good hygiene.”

5. Microwave touch screen

This spot is notorious for not getting cleaned. “You can put something in (the microwave) that is raw to cook it and could leave behind E. coli or salmonella” Rubino says. He adds that even though the food comes out cooked, the germs that can make you sick are left on the outside of the microwave for the next person to touch. It is important to wipe down the touch screen regularly.

6. TV remote

Imagine the typical couch potatoes — watching TV while they absentmindedly chew their fingernails, snack on food and flip through channels, leaving all kinds of bacteria on the remote. “Anything in your home that you touch a lot leaves germs behind,” Rubino says. Make sure to sanitize the remote control regularly to prevent sickness.