Cleaning And Disinfecting Your Home

Cleaning And Disinfecting Your Home

There are many measures that have been put in place to prevent being infected by the terrible COVID-19 virus. Social distancing, working from home, washing your hands regularly are all methods we must follow.

To add to all of this, we also need to keep our home clean, especially since the nation is under lockdown, and we have to spend all our time at home.

Cleaning your home entirely with disinfectant will make sure the virus won’t stay on anything you've touched and infect family, visitors, or housemates.

What to clean and when to do it

Frequently touched surfaces like door handles, faucets, tabletops, and light switches should be cleaned frequently, even daily. Anytime you leave the house or have things delivered, you might be bringing in the virus that could settle on any of these surfaces. This is why you need to clean key high-touch surfaces regularly at home.

Sinks and basins, although not often actually touched, should also be cleaned regularly due to contact with food. Infrequently-touched surfaces like floors, ceilings, walls and door can be cleaned with the same detergents, just less frequently. Mopping of floors should be done with water and detergent as dry mopping may not be sufficient. Walls should be cleaned when visibly dusty or soiled.

Protect yourself:

You should be wearing a mask, gloves, and eye protection - mainly to stop yourself unconsciously touching your face. Wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer before putting on gloves and masks, and after removing them.

Additional key times to clean hands include:

• After blowing one’s nose, coughing, or sneezing

• After using the restroom

• Before eating or preparing food

• After contact with animals or pets

• Before and after providing routine care for another person who needs assistance (e.g. a child)

How long do disinfectants need to remain on a surface to work?

Different products require varying lengths of time to work effectively. For hydrogen peroxide, you need to leave it on for a minimum of one minute before wiping it off. For rubbing alcohol it needs to be on for a minimum of 30 seconds. When you’re using bleach on delicate surfaces leave it on for a minimum of 30 seconds. On surfaces that don’t get damaged, you can leave it on for 10 minutes.

Don’t forget your Bike:

You may have used your bike to get vegetables, groceries or medical. It is very important to clean it thoroughly using the same principles as cleaning your home before you or anyone else uses it again.

How to handle Trash:

Use gloves when removing garbage bags, and handling and disposing of trash. Wash hands afterwards.