Ever since the arrival of Coronavirus life has been turned upset down. Hand washing and wiping down surfaces that could be contaminated has become a meaningful way to fight against this new invisible enemy. Cleaning products, hand sanitizer, and strangely, toilet paper became like gold and were hard to obtain. Now we are left wondering how to protect ourselves and our homes.
Life is slowly returning to normal as the country slowly opens businesses up. We are left learning to adapt to living with a pandemic as a part of our daily lives. The way we live and our day-to-day behavior changes to help keep ourselves and others safe. This means we have to be more careful than ever when we go out because we could be potentially bringing the virus home, whether by accidentally touching something or the virus on our shoes or clothes. Shopping for food, ordering takeout, and even picking up the mail are all activities we once looked at as harmless. It could now be risky behavior to get us sick. We could unknowingly bring the virus into your home, and risk getting infected by Covid-19.
The CDC recommends that high touch surfaces such as light switches, doorknobs, keys, countertops, and cell phones be disinfected as much as possible. Experts say the virus can live on objects for many hours and even days on certain materials. A trip to the store could bring back the virus on your hands and other objects. The virus could spread to you and other family members if these high touch-points are not disinfected immediately.
Many cleaning products are still hard to come by. Don’t worry if you don’t have Clorox wipes. A small amount of bleach and water can be used to make an acceptable disinfectant. Just mix 1/3 cup bleach to every gallon of water. This mixture is safe to use on most non-porous surfaces around your home. Many electronics can be swabbed down with tiny amounts of 70% alcohol or commercial alcohol wipes. Read the labels of the manufacture recommendations for cleaning smartphones, keyboards, tablets, and all other electronics.
Clorox wipes, bleach water, or alcohol wipes can wipe down food packages and delivery items. Fruit can be rinsed off with hot water; citrus fruits can soak for a few minutes and then air dry. Counters and hands should be washed thoroughly after putting away items and other outside packages brought into the home.
To be on the safe side, carpets should be vacuumed as much as possible and keep the floors swept and mopped. Clothes linens and towels should be washed in the warm or hot water and dried in the dryer instead of being put up to dry.
Sanitizing high touch-points is essential to keep your risk of catching COVID-19 low. Read more on the leaning and sanitation recommendation from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cleaning-disinfection.html