How to Disinfect Your Home to Stay Healthy & Safe
There are specific (and very simple) steps you can take to help your home stay a healthy one. We’ve gathered sanitizing tips recommended by medical specialists to keep your home as bug-free as possible!
The good news is that buggy viruses like the common cold and flu as well as viruses like COVID-19, can be easily destroyed by most disinfectants. Practice the following steps to keep your family and home safe.
Use disinfectant solutions that are verified to work against the virus.
The CDC recommends that you can prepare a diluted household bleach solution by mixing 5 tablespoons (⅓ cup) bleach per gallon of water or 4 teaspoons of bleach per quart of water. Alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol should also do the trick. You can also cross check the product label on your disinfectant with this EPA-approved product list to ensure your solution will get the job done.
It’s important to note that disinfecting is different than cleaning. Using soap and water on a surface will clean it by removing germs, which lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection. Using chemicals to disinfect will kill the germs on the surface after you clean it. Surprisingly, most of the “soap” products we use are actually detergents that not only remove germs from surfaces, but also kill them. Just make sure you verify your product.
Many people clean with vinegar because it’s natural and cheap. There is no evidence that vinegar or vinegar solutions are effective against viruses such as the coronravirus. The same goes for vodka, as the alcohol concentration isn’t high enough to kill viruses.
Get Your Technique Down.
As many gyms have closed, you can get in your work out at home by scrubbing regularly. A quick swipe is not enough to decontaminate a surface. Scrub the surface until it’s fully wet and then let it dry on its own. Make sure you are using enough disinfectant. Clorox has shared that to disinfect a hard, nonporous surface, you must “use enough wipes for the treated surface to remain visibly wet for four minutes.”
Hit “High-Touch” areas.
Focus your scrubbing efforts on “high-touch” areas. These include faucet handles, doorknobs, stair rails, countertops, keyboards, phones, coffee pot handles, etc. Just think of the places and things that get a lot of hand contact. Also, don’t forget about yourself!! Wash your hands as often as possible, but especially before and after preparing a meal, using the restroom and of course, interacting with another person.
Clean and Disinfect Regularly.
It would be great if the cleaning and disinfecting process could be done once and over for good. Unfortunately it’s a process you should do multiple times a day. Wipe down the door knobs and faucet handles often. Any time someone prepares a meal or eats at the kitchen counter, give it a good scrub. Also, make sure to regularly clean the space you may be working from home in.
So, roll up your sleeves, get scrubbing and keep your home squeaky clean and most importantly, germ-free!
*Note: This post sourced information from this NBCNews article.