Meating the Budget Part 2

I know what you're thinking: Didn't you ever take microbiology? What are you thinking handling spice jars and raw chicken!

You're right, no job is complete without clean up! I like to use those disinfecting wipes, but a 10% bleach/90% water solution works just as well. This time I had neither on hand, so I wiped everything down with alcohol (must be at least 90%!). Don't forget the counter, the sink and the faucet!!

And I dumped the apron directly into the wash.

If you always presume that all chicken is covered with salmonella, it will keep you honest with your clean up and you'll never get sick. Just clean everything the chicken touched and everything that touched anything that the chicken touched, and well, you get the idea!

I often think of a lab mate at JHU. He was a 3rd year MD/PHD student and he was tapped to teach first year med students basic laboratory safety. He taught them all abut the importance of wearing gloves and aseptic technique... and after they left, he cleaned up from the lab without gloves.

He ended up in the hospital with a bad infection from the s. aureus he had been using in his demonstration.

Oops.

But it taught me a lesson: clean up is not about looking good; be careful every time!