‘Tis the season to party. Whether it is for Christmas or New Year’s Eve, getting ready to host your family and friends can be a chore – especially if you have ignored the dirtiest parts of your home over the last few months.

The cleaning experts with Two Maids & A Mop, one of the nation’s top residential cleaning companies, have mapped out a strategy to help. They have identified the five germiest places you will find inside a home over this holiday season and what you need to do to keep those areas clean.

1. Door Knobs – Most people who do wash their hands – don’t always do it the right way. A study by Michigan State University researchers found only five percent of people who used the bathroom, washed their hands long enough to kill germs that can cause infections. This means a lot of people are walking out of the bathroom and touch the door and knobs with germs on their hands.

TWO MAIDS & A MOP ADVICE: Frequently use anti-bacterial wipes to wipe down door knobs, switches, even the handle you push to flush the toilet.

2. Hand Towels in a Bathroom – Bacteria like to grow in wet, moist areas. A microbiologist at the University of Arizona found more than 90% of bathroom towels he examined to be contaminated. Every time you use reuse a tainted hand towel you can possibly increase chances of developing allergies or rashes.

TWO MAIDS & A MOP ADVICE: If you don’t want to frequently change out a hand towel during a party, pick up some decorative paper hand towels, instead.

3. Remote Control – So many hands touch the TV remote, but when was the last time you cleaned it? It’s an easy fix.

TWO MAIDS & A MOP ADVICE: Dab a little alcohol on a cotton ball and get in between the buttons, you can also use any disinfectant wipe to clean your remote about once a week.

4. Woman’s Purse - Before you let a relative or friend walk in and set her purse on your kitchen counter, think about this: a woman’s purse is dirtier than a toilet seat based on a study by British researchers.

TWO MAIDS & A MOP ADVICE: If guests do put purses on either a table or countertop or area where a potluck will be set up, sanitize the area before setting food out with an anti-bacterial cleaning product and a microfiber cloth.

5. Carpet - No easy way to say this. If your home is carpeted, it’s covered in dead skin cells. According to NYU School of Medicine microbiologist Philip Tierno, Ph.D, about 200,000 bacteria live in each square INCH of carpet.

TWO MAIDS & A MOP ADVICE: Vacuum frequently and give your carpets a deep cleaning before you open your home up to holiday guests. You can clean area rugs with soap and water twice a year.