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Regularly cleaning surfaces in your home is a given at any time. It helps prevent the spread of germs, which helps keep you healthy. This is even more important during the flu season when everyone's catching the flu. Indeed, it pays to know how to clean and disinfect your home during flu season.
Here, you can learn what cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfection means. You can also learn how to clean your home surfaces, sanitize surfaces, and disinfect your home after the flu season. Read on for more information.
How to Clean and Disinfect Your Home
First, you should understand what cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting your home means.
What cleaning and disinfection mean
You clean your home to remove germs and dirt from surfaces in your home. This is done by wiping or scrubbing with household cleaners. These cleaners should contain soap and water. It is better to clean surfaces before sanitizing them. This is because dirt and other impurities can make it harder for chemicals to access and kill germs.
What sanitizing and disinfecting mean
Meanwhile, sanitizing your home can bring it up to meet public health safety standards if it involves using bleach solutions or sanitizing sprays to clean your house.
When you disinfect your home, you kill surface germs. The bleach solutions and chemicals here are much stronger than those for sanitizing.
Thus, using disinfectant solutions can help kill viruses and bacteria. In turn, this lowers the risk of spreading diseases like the flu. Again, you should clean surfaces before disinfecting them.
When should you clean surfaces in your home?
- You can clean high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs and light switches regularly.
- Also, make it a point to clean high-touch surfaces after hosting visitors.
- You need to clean surfaces in your home when you see they are dirty or need cleaning.
- If those in your household are prone to getting sick or have weakened immune systems, you should clean surfaces more regularly.
- Remember to use the appropriate cleaning products and follow the instructions on the label.
How to clean hard surfaces in your home
- Examples of hard surfaces in the home include floors and counters. You can use appropriate household cleaners to clean such surfaces.
- Alternatively, you can make do with soap and water.
- If you want to remove everyday stains from hard surfaces, you can use multipurpose disinfectants. It's great for killing bacteria and viruses.
How to clean soft surfaces in your home
- Examples of soft surfaces include rugs, carpets, and drapes. You can clean soft surfaces with the right cleaning products.
- You may also choose to launder items but be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions. For example, use warm water settings and dry the items thoroughly.
- Vacuum dirt off surfaces of carpets and rugs and dispose of the dirt.
How to clean laundry items
- Examples of laundry items include towels, linens, and clothing. Use detergent at a recommended water temperature to launder items.
- Be sure to dry the items entirely.
- Washing your hands after touching dirty laundry is a good practice to remember.
- Use sanitizing laundry soap and hot water to wash all bathroom towels to avoid the spread of germs.
- Likewise, use sanitizing laundry detergents on the hottest setting to wash bed sheets.
How to clean electronics
- Electronic items like phones, keyboards, and remote controls are frequently touched. Consequently, they can be a source of transferring germs.
- You may put a wipeable cover on your electronics. This makes them easier to clean and disinfect.
- It is crucial to adhere to the manufacturer's cleaning instructions.
How to Sanitize Surfaces in Your Home
- It is not every surface in your home that needs sanitizing after cleaning.
- Sanitize objects and surfaces that your kids or infant use. This includes toys and feeding items.
- Food often comes in contact with surfaces that need to be sanitized.
- Always use an appropriate sanitizing solution and follow label instructions.
Ways to sanitize surfaces
- You may not need to sanitize surfaces and objects daily if you clean them thoroughly.
- When sanitizing, use a bleach solution or sanitizing spray.
- Sanitize nonporous surfaces like feeding items by boiling, steaming, or using a diluted bleach solution.
- Certain items can be sanitized using a dishwasher set to a sanitizing cycle.
- You can place sanitized items on a clean dish towel and let them air dry thoroughly.
- Remember to avoid patting items dry to avoid germ transfer.
- Use hot, soapy water to clean hard surfaces such as countertops.
- After that, sanitize areas like the inner sink using sanitizing products or homemade bleach solutions.
How to Disinfect Your Home After the Flu Season
It would be best to go beyond cleaning and disinfecting your home when you have sick persons or people with weakened immune systems. Moreover, you must disinfect your home after being ill or if someone gets sick during the flu season. This will help stop the spread of viruses and bacteria. You can use the following steps to disinfect your house:
- Use an appropriate disinfecting product or a strong bleach solution.
- First, clean surfaces with soap and water. Regular deep cleaning can give you a head start anytime you wish to disinfect your home.
- Check the instructions on the labels of disinfecting products. You must be sure you are using the right product for the right surface.
- Remember to follow safety guidelines for using chemical cleaners or disinfectants.
- Make use of recommended protective equipment like gloves and eye goggles.
- Paper towels are a better alternative than sponges or rags for disinfecting surfaces. They do not harbor bacteria.
- Allow enough contact time for the disinfectant to kill off the germs. The contact time is included in the directions for use.
- Remember to create good ventilation when disinfecting indoors.
- Quite importantly, keep all chemicals out of the reach of children and pets.
- Note that certain cleaning and disinfection products can trigger asthma attacks.
- Use soap and water to wash your hands for up to 20 seconds after disinfecting.
Choosing Effective Cleaning Products
You need the right supplies to disinfect your home effectively. The Centers for Disease Control recommends using bleach-containing disinfectants to eliminate flu germs. Read the label instructions for disinfectant solutions and sanitizing laundry detergents. In addition, check the contact time that it needs to be able to kill germs effectively.
Examples of disinfecting products include the following:
Disinfecting sprays
Disinfecting sprays like Lysol Disinfectant Spray effectively kill viruses and bacteria during the cold and flu season.
Disinfecting wipes
Disinfecting wipes such as Clorox Disinfecting Wipes are all-purpose disinfecting wipes that kill off germs, allergens, and infectious diseases. You can use them to sanitize high-touch items such as keyboards and TV remotes.
Homemade disinfectants
You may not always be able to purchase disinfecting products. In such situations, you can make use of homemade disinfectants. Use everyday items like bleach to make your own disinfectant spray. Mixing five tablespoons of bleach and a gallon of water is good when making homemade disinfectants.
Steam cleaners
Steam cleaners can help you clean your home's surfaces and stop the spread of germs. This is especially true for flu viruses. Steam cleaners can sanitize surfaces and items such as stuffed animals. Steam cleaners are a practical option if you want to clean and disinfect your home. You can use it to eliminate mold and mildew as well.
Deep Cleaning and Disinfecting for Colds and Flu
Bacteria and viruses pose great danger, especially during the cold and flu season. There can be a spread of germs to other household members after a person falls sick. That is why you should disinfect your home after being sick. Deep cleaning your home after being sick can save lives.
That is why you should add deep cleanings of the bathroom, kitchen, and other shared surfaces to your regular cleaning. You should also disinfect nonporous surfaces and items in your daily cleaning routine. It is vital to disinfect sheets, pillowcases, and bedding after an illness.
Washing Your Hands
CDC recommendations include washing your hands frequently with soap and warm water. You may also use an alcohol-based hand rub. Alternatively, you can habitually wash your hands and use hand sanitizer to avoid catching cold or flu during flu season.
Hiring a Professional Cleaning Company
Having gone through this guide, you now know more about how to clean and disinfect your home during flu season. However, you need not wait until the flu season arrives or until a household member falls sick. Hiring a cleaning company proficient in cleaning and disinfecting services can help you stay ahead and healthy.