Are you starting to feel the need to stock up on cleaning products, soap, and sanitizer? It’s difficult not to panic in a time when infectious diseases are being spread so easily. We all know the best way to stay germ-free is to wash our hands as often as possible. So, at the moment, we’re all sanitizing while out and about, and washing our hands as soon as we get home. But what else should we be doing in order to stop the spread of an infectious virus?

Besides staying home, we need to ensure our homes are virus and germ-free too. So let’s get down to business. Cleaning and disinfecting are two very different things. It’s important to do both if we not only want to remove dirt but want to get rid of bacteria and the threat of infectious viruses.

Do We Need to Disinfect Our Homes?

Yes! Keeping our homes clean and disinfected will definitely prevent the spread of germs and infectious diseases. The most obvious thing to do, when facing a full home disinfection, is to start with those surfaces that we touch the most. The reason being, if there are germs lurking on these objects by touching them often you’re just transferring the germs back from the dirty surfaces onto your hands.

It’s true that some viruses can actually stay infectious on surfaces for days, not just hours. This is very worrying. So it’s important to start practicing a daily hygiene routine with your family, for yourselves and your home. This will help decrease the spread of respiratory viruses.

What To Use:

• Soap and water: This is your first port of call. Cleaning all your surfaces with soap and water needs to become routine. Especially with regards to the high traffic areas in your home.

• Disinfectant: Not all cleaning products are able to kill infectious viruses. In fact, a lot of the cleaning products we use are focused on killing bacteria, not viruses. Good disinfectants are: diluted household bleach solutions that you can make at home (4 teaspoons household bleach with 1-quart water), alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol, or household cleaners and disinfectants that state on their packaging that they kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses.

Make sure you follow manufacturers’ instructions and have windows open for good ventilation when cleaning. Remember to try to keep surfaces wet for a few minutes before drying.

Where To Start

• Wiping Down

Ensure you’re wiping down – with disinfectant – all the high traffic areas in your homes, such as kitchens, all counters and desks, keyboards, cell phones, door handles, light switches, remote controls, and even your car steering wheel. Once you bring in your grocery supplies, unpack them, spray them with disinfectant, pack them away, and then wipe down the area the bags were placed. Then wash your hands thoroughly.

• Devices

Use a disinfecting wipe (not on plastic) or 70% alcohol solution with a soft towel. Pay attention to the screen or buttons and areas where dirt usually gets trapped. Take off the case too, clean it thoroughly and then replace it. Make sure to pay attention to your laptop’s keyboard, trackpad, and exterior, and the mouse with your desktop computer.

• Floors

Although your hands aren’t touching the floor every day, your shoes and pets are able to bring bacteria and viruses from outside, into our homes. So make sure to disinfect your floors as well.

• Soft Surfaces

These are trickier than cleaning a kitchen counter, for sure, but the same techniques apply – clean your carpet, rug, or drapes with the recommended cleaner and then launder or take what you can to the laundromat or dry cleaner. And then once clean, use a suitable household disinfectant.

• Laundry

For all the simpler laundry items that can be washed at home, such as clothes, towels, and linen, start your routine by using disposable gloves. Don’t shake out your laundry, use the warmest appropriate setting, and dry items completely. You’re not done there. Once you’re finished, clean and disinfect the hamper itself, take off your gloves, and wash your hands thoroughly.

If Someone in Your Home is Sick

If someone in your home is sick, especially during flu season when infectious viruses are rampant, your cleaning and disinfecting routine should be even more strict. Our top tip is to handle your cleaning routine with disposable gloves.

It’s best to feed your sick family member separately, where possible, and keep your hygiene standards very high when dealing with their dishes, utensils, and trash. Use gloves when handling all of these items concerned with your sick loved-one, and always wash hands thoroughly afterwards.

If you’re looking for a professional cleaning service to get a thorough start to cleaning and disinfecting your home this season, call your nearest Restoration 1 branch. We offervirus and disease clean-up services. We’ll get you started so you can maintain the routine of keeping infectious viruses and bacteria away from your home and your loved ones.

When it comes to virus disinfection, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Give us a call today on xxx, or learn more about our professional serviceshere.

*Cleaning and decontamination services effectively address immediate conditions, but no chemical or process eliminates 100% of all organisms.