People should be focusing on how to prevent harmful microbes from spreading in their homes rather than cleaning the bits that look "dirty", a Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) report says.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media.

Washing hands, cloths and surfaces at the right time is the key to good hygiene - but one in four people think it is not important, it warns.

Getting it right can reduce infections and antibiotic resistance.

And there is no such thing as being "too clean".

According to the RSPH report, there is confusion among the public about the difference between dirt, germs, cleanliness and hygiene.

In a survey of 2,000 people, 23% thought children needed to be exposed to harmful germs to build up their immune systems.

But experts behind the report said this was "a potentially harmful belief" which could lead to exposure to some dangerous infections.

Instead, they said people should concentrate on cleaning specific places at specific times, even if they look clean, to stop "bad" microbes spreading.