Protect Yourself And Your Family From Covid This Winter!
The threat of COVID-19 continues to loom over the entire world. Its novelty is making so many of us anxious about getting infected. While scientists are still trying to figure out everything about the virus, we can do our party by ensuring we lower the risk of infection. And it starts by making sure our home is as clean and virus-free as possible. Here are some tips on cleaning and disinfecting the home.
CLEANING THE HOME
Disinfecting areas in the home that are regularly touched is an important precaution in lowering the risk of infection. It’s crucial that the manufacturer’s instructions on disinfecting should be followed, including the precautions that you should take when applying the cleaning product. This might include wearing gloves and ensuring you have proper ventilation.
WHAT TO USE FOR DISINFECTING
If a surface is quite dirty, you first have to clean it with soap and water. Only after should you apply a disinfectant such as 70% alcohol or bleach. Natural products such as vinegar are not recommended.
READ THE LABEL
Not all cleaning products are effective at eradicating bacteria and viruses. It is, therefore, quite important that you read the label on all the cleaning products. Cleaning products labeled as a disinfectant are enough to kill bacteria and viruses when it is used correctly. Those that “sanitize” are a whole different matter. It won’t have enough killing power to get rid of most bacteria, viruses, and fungi. It may only kill 99.9% of bacteria but not fungi and viruses.
LET THE LIQUID DISINFECTANT DRY OFF NATURALLY
The best way to ensure that the disinfectant is doing its job of killing bacteria and viruses; you must let it stay on the surface for a couple of minutes. In fact, you should just let it dry off on its own – don’t dry it with a dry cloth. Known as the contact time, it is the period of time that the surface is visibly wet with the disinfecting agent. It could range between 15 seconds to 10 minutes, depending on the product manufacturer’s recommendation.
If the product evaporates for the entire duration of its recommended contact time, you might have to get a little heavy-handed with that product – meaning, you’ll have to reapply a couple of times. As for homes with older people and kids that aren’t ideal to have a wet floor, you can switch to a cleaning agent with shorter contact time.
USE MORE THAN ONE WIPE
If you’re using disinfectant wipes, the rule to keep in mind is to only use it when it can still wet the surface. The reasoning behind this is the same as that of floor disinfectant – you have to leave enough liquid on the surface for it to be effective against microbes and viruses. What you can do is to section off the surface you’re disinfecting and use one wipe for each section. Remember, make sure the surface is visibly wet when you’re wiping. If not, throw it out and use a fresh wipe.
FOCUS ON HIGH-TOUCH AREAS
There is a set of guidelines that the NEA released on how homes that may have been exposed to COVID-19 should be disinfected. But for homes that aren’t, it is recommended that high-touch areas should be the main focus. These are areas of the house that are typically touched and/or handled by family members. These include:
- table surfaces
- doorknobs
- dining chairs
- bathroom counters
- kitchen counters
- taps
- toilet seat and flush handle
- light switches
- TV remote controls
- Nanny or spy camera
To disinfect these areas, you can wipe, spray, or mob them using a disinfectant product. It’s also possible to create your very own bleach solution by mixing five tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water.
AUTHOR BIO:
Lily Brooks is a frequent traveler and informative content writer who loves to write about travel, technology, and more. She is currently working with EyeSpySupply, which offers spy camera, nanny cams, gps trackers, voice-activated audio recorders, and more.
