How To Clean and Disinfect Your Home For The Coronavirus

Whether you have been ordered to remain at home or you are taking the initiative to shelter in place, the protection that your home provides is more apparent and more crucial than ever. Because of how contagious the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is, the safest place for most people is inside the home. However, this assumes that your home is a sanitary environment.

Each time you or a family member returns after venturing outside, you run the risk of introducing the airborne coronavirus into your home. When you bring items in your home, such as take-out food containers or groceries, the risk of contamination may be more significant.

Both cleaning and disinfecting your home frequently are essential steps, but do you need to adjust your current efforts to create a safe, healthy shelter that your home needs to be at this time?

The Critical Need to Disinfect Your Home Frequently

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is easily spread through the air, and it is commonly introduced when an infected person coughs, sneezes laughs, or even breathes. In addition, the coronavirus can live on various surfaces for up to several days. The exact length of time will depend on the surface that the virus is on as well as the environmental conditions. Touching contaminated surfaces can transfer the coronavirus to other areas of the home. When you touch contaminated surfaces before touching your face, you run the risk of directly introducing the coronavirus into your body. Disinfecting your home frequently is an essential step to destroy any coronavirus pathogens that have found their way into your safe haven. If you need help disinfecting your home, check out the best apartment house cleaning service in Boston.

Areas That Require Your Regular Attention

You must assume that every surface in your home has been contaminated. However, some surfaces are frequently touched and may require your attention up to several times each day. For example, you and your family members may frequently touch counters, light switches, the front of the fridge and microwave, knobs and pulls, remote controls, toilets, faucets, and other areas. Pay attention to the areas and objects that are used multiple times each day in your home to ensure that you do not overlook any critical areas. Keep in mind that these areas require attention multiple times each day, but all surfaces in the home should be cleaned regularly regardless of how infrequently they may be touched or used.

Do Not Overlook Your Smartphone

If you are like most people, you handle your smartphone frequently throughout the day. You likely bring your smartphone with you into the grocery store and when you visit other public venues. More than that, you may bring this device up to your face periodically when you make phone calls. When is the last time that you sanitized your smartphone? Ideally, you will leave your smartphone in your car rather than bringing it with you into the grocery store or other venues. Even when you take this step, the device should be sanitized at least daily. One way to do this is to use a sanitizing wipe. Another option is to rub it with hand sanitizer when you are disinfecting your hands.

The Important Difference Between Cleaning and Disinfecting

Many people use the terms cleaning and disinfecting interchangeably, but they are actually two different steps in a thorough decontamination process. Unfortunately, many people only complete one of these steps, so the home is not as sanitary as it needs to be. Cleaning involves wiping down hard surfaces with a wet rag that holds warm, soapy water. Disinfecting generally requires the use of a harsh chemical to kill any pathogens that remain on the surfaces. Both steps serve important purposes, so they both must be completed properly in order to produce the sanitary results that you and your family members need.

When to Clean and Disinfect Hard Surfaces

Assuming that nobody in the home is ill, some hard surfaces should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after each use. For example, the kitchen counters and table should be sanitized after each meal. When you introduce new items into these spaces, such as when you are unloading groceries after a trip to the store, additional sanitizing efforts are essential. For other hard surfaces, such as light switches, toilet handles, and other areas, daily efforts may suffice as long as you and others in the home frequently wash your hands.

The Proper Way to Disinfect Hard Surfaces

The coronavirus and other pathogens may hide underneath crumbs and other grit on hard surfaces. Therefore, these materials must be removed through thorough cleaning before the spaces can be disinfected properly. Fill a sink with warm, soapy water. Use a clean rag to wipe down the counters, handles, knobs, and other surfaces. Remember to revisit the sink periodically to remove particles that the wet cloth picks up.

Once the hard surfaces in your home have been cleaned, you are ready to disinfect them. Several cleaning products may be used for this purpose. Generally, an alcohol-based product that contains at least a 70-percent concentration of alcohol will work well. A bleach-based product can also be used. Some people create their own bleach-based cleaning agent by diluting pure bleach with water. Be aware that even diluted bleach can cause discoloration and should be used with care. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as a cleaning agent when other products or solutions are not available.

When cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, remember that your rag or cloth may become contaminated. In order to avoid spreading germs while you are cleaning your home, you must use a clean cloth or rag for each new surface that you touch. A smart way to conserve rags or cloths is to fold the material as needed so that the contaminated areas are folded inward and the clean material is applied to the surfaces.

How to Clean Carpet and Upholstery

Many people unfortunately overlook soft or upholstered surfaces when they are sanitizing their home. However, this coronavirus can also remain on soft surfaces throughout the home. This includes the carpet, upholstered furnishings, drapes, and other items. Generally, you should not clean these areas with soap and warm water daily because of the risk of mold growth and other concerns. You can vacuum the floor and furnishings frequently, and the drapes can be laundered.

The floor and upholstery also should be cleaned periodically through a shampooing or steam cleaning process. Before the pandemic, these steps were recommended once or twice per year depending on the number of people and pets in the home. Because of the pandemic, consider doing so every month or two. Remember to allow these surfaces to dry out thoroughly to reduce the risk of mold growth.

Essential Adjustments to Sanitize Your Laundry

It is easy to forget the fact that the coronavirus can live on clothing. Clothing can be contaminated each time someone in the house ventures outside. It can also be contaminated in the home if the material rubs against a filthy surface. With this in mind, all of your clothing should be thoroughly cleaned after each use. Throughout the pandemic, use the warmest temperature setting that is recommended for the specific fabrics that are being washed. The laundry should be immediately transferred into the dryer, and it should be thoroughly dried. Remember to clean the hand towels in the kitchen as well as the bathroom towels and even the small rugs throughout the home on a regular basis.

How to Reduce Contaminants That Enter Your Home

You can see that you can and should take regular steps throughout each day to decontaminate your home through cleaning and disinfecting steps. To create the healthiest home environment, you also need to take reasonable steps to reduce the number of germs that you introduce into your home. Each time you get in your car, apply hand sanitizer before you start driving down the road. When you get home, spray Lysol throughout your car’s cabin. Remove your shoes before entering your home. Wipe down all items that you bring into your homes, such as groceries or take-out food containers. Disinfect counters and other surfaces after you have put groceries and other items away. It is also a smart idea to change your clothing after you return home from each outing. Remember to disinfect your wallet and debit or credit card as well. To reduce the number of items that you must sanitize upon returning home, avoid taking unnecessary items with you. For example, rather than taking your whole purse, grab only the essential cards and your driver’s license. We can help you reduce outside contaminants. Schedule your next disinfecting with the top home cleaning services in Philadelphia.

When Someone Is Ill in the Home

Under normal conditions, your primary focus is centered around preventing germs from entering the home and on killing those germs that may have found their way inside despite your best efforts. When someone is ill in the home, you must also focus on containing those germs to a specific area of the home. The sick person should remain confined to one bedroom and bathroom, and nobody else should use these spaces. Any items leaving the rooms, such as laundry and dishes, should be handled carefully. For example, take the dishes that the ill person used straight to the dishwasher. Then, sanitize all areas that you may have touched along the way. In addition, all regular cleaning and disinfecting efforts throughout the home should be completed more frequently.

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has caused severe symptoms or worse in millions of people around the world, and it continues to spread rapidly. Because of how contagious it is, you must remain at home as much as possible for your well-being. You also must keep your home as clean and as sanitary as possible through regular containment, cleaning, and disinfecting steps. These essential tips will help you to improve your efforts so that your home is the safe haven that you need it to be throughout the pandemic.