Disinfect household: Coronavirus precautions through hygiene

By disinfecting and cleaning the surfaces in your household, you can prevent yourself or a loved one from getting Covid-19. It also helps everyone to keep their home and themselves hygienic. With growing concerns about the spread of corona viruses and continuing panic when buying soap and detergents, experts are announcing how often you should clean your home and which products are best for protecting your family. Many disease control centers recommend that people take every precaution to keep touch-sensitive surfaces in homes clean. Below you will find out how long the virus lasts on surfaces and which disinfectants it may kill. These are some important steps you can take during quarantine.

Disinfect a household at risk from corona virus

wear rubber gloves prevent covid-19 disinfect household

You have heard it a million times and you will see and hear it very often. The best way to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection and Covid-19, or to pass it on to someone else, is to wash your hands. For example, when leaving and returning from the grocery store, you should also disinfect your hands or wash them properly. It is also important to provide your hands with plenty of moisture. Dry and cracked skin is at higher risk for all types of infections. Therefore, apply a small moisturizer after washing. Most moisturizing lotions contain similar ingredients, starting with water and glycerin, so the brand doesn't matter. If your hands are particularly dry, look for a dermatologist who can recommend a suitable remedy.

apply moisturizing cream avoid dry skin

The first thing you should know is that cleaning and disinfecting are two very different things. Health experts recommend that people do a little of both regularly during the epidemic, even when no one is sick in their home. Cleaning removes contaminants from a surface, while disinfection is all about killing pathogens. So do both daily when someone has entered or left your home. Researchers have found that the novel corona virus can live on surfaces such as cardboard for at least 16 hours, but up to two or three days on plastic and stainless steel. Cleaning and disinfecting touch-sensitive surfaces is therefore a countermeasure that everyone should take.

Clean and disinfect surfaces

mouse pad clean computer keyboard surface due to corona virus sensitive to touch

Every home is a little different. For this reason, think primarily of the surfaces with which you interact most frequently. For most people, doorknobs, light switches, door handles, taps, sinks and worktops, as well as computer keyboards and mouse pads are included. So first clean these surfaces and remove any contaminants such as dust or deposits. You can do this by wiping everything with soapy water or a detergent and towel. Then apply a disinfectant. The fastest and easiest way to do this is to use wet wipes or disinfectant sprays. Adding this information to your daily schedule can help reduce the risk of infection for you and others in your household. If you can't get disinfectant at this point, just work thoroughly with the soap or detergent you have.

plastic bottles soaps disinfectant cleaning the toilet and disinfection

There are many disinfectants that kill the novel corona virus when you disinfect your household. However, here are some important points to keep in mind. Most such products should have a label that lists the viruses against which they are effective. You should pay more attention to this than to a specific active ingredient. If the product has an indication to kill influenza, RSB, SARS virus or other coronaviruses, it should also be currently effective against this new coronavirus. However, the shelves are empty in many places, especially in the cleaning area, but you still have plenty of options. First, use more soap, water, and scrubbing. It can make a big difference.

Create your own disinfectant

wash hands thoroughly 20 seconds who rules prevent corona virus

Many factors, such as the outside temperature, affect the survival rate of the corona viruses, and it is not entirely clear whether it is sufficient to ingest only a small number of viruses to transmit the infection. However, it's a good start to take days instead of hours. With research suggesting that human coronaviruses can remain infectious on surfaces for a few days, setting up household hygiene with some simple, everyday preventive measures can help prevent the spread of respiratory infections. So here's an easy way to make a disinfectant yourself if you can't find it in the store.

bathroom cleaning with sponge and disinfectant due to coronavirus precautions

You only need a few ingredients for the cleaning solution when disinfecting your household. For example, that would be 4 spoons of bleach and 1 liter of water. Pour both into a spray bottle and shake vigorously. For disinfection, you can simply spray the mixture on the surface, let it rest for 10 minutes and wipe it with a damp cloth. The bleach is excessive in most cases. However, you should never mix bleach solution with any other cleaning chemical as this can damage or discolour delicate surfaces. Use it as a last resort if you can't get or purchase any other disinfectant. When bleaching, remember to wear gloves, open the windows, and be careful.

Disinfect floor surfaces in the household

Laminate or wood floor surface clean germs kill viruses disinfect household

The floor areas in an apartment or house are heavily used every day. If you do not take off your shoes or live pets in the household, there is an additional risk that bacteria and viruses will be introduced from outside. It is therefore essential that you not only clean your floor surfaces as usual, but also disinfect them properly. It is therefore not enough to carry out a thorough cleaning every few days. You should make it a habit to clean and disinfect your surfaces at least once a day, but more often when they are used heavily. It is therefore not only important to keep your home clean. You also need to use the right products to make sure you eliminate bad germs.

smiling man with rubber gloves cleans bathroom cabinet with mirror facade

Each disinfectant chemical also has its own specific instructions. An important general rule, however, is that once you have applied a cleaning solution to a surface, do not wipe it off immediately. Let the drug stay there long enough to use it to kill viruses first. Do not use different cleaning agents at the same time. Some household chemicals, when mixed, can produce dangerous and toxic gases. Non-porous items such as plastic toys can be dipped in bleach for 30 seconds. Household surfaces that are not damaged by bleach should be exposed for 10 or more minutes. In this case, diluted bleach, cleaning agents with at least 70% alcohol and disinfectants are recommended.

Does alcohol help disinfect against COVID-19?

cleaning cloth with detergent oven cleaner glass door clean with gloves

You can dilute alcohol with water or aloe vera to make hand sanitizers. However, be sure to maintain an alcohol concentration of around 70% to kill coronaviruses. Many hand disinfectants have a concentration of around 60% alcohol, while Sagrotan contains around 80%, for example. These are all effective against coronaviruses. 70% alcohol solutions should then be left on surfaces for at least 30 seconds. For this purpose, pure (100%) alcohol evaporates too quickly. You should seal containers with 70% alcohol to prevent evaporation. In contrast to bleaching solutions, however, they remain effective as long as you close them between applications.

detergent in bottles for spraying and disinfect cleaning cloths household

Stocking up with antibacterial wipes and detergents appears to be a correct measure, but it does not protect you against corona viruses or other viruses. This is because bacteria and viruses are two different germs and are therefore killed by different products. However, don't throw away all antibacterial cleaners yet, some may still be effective. Most antibacterial cleaners are also disinfectants. They were only marketed specifically to highlight their antibacterial properties. Viruses are more resistant to disinfectants, but can still be killed with them. Coronavirus is a enveloped virus, which means that it is encased in a layer of fat that can be more easily broken down by detergents.

Laundry and cleaning for sick people

young woman with cleaning supplies is preparing for household disinfection under quarantine

When disinfecting your household, you should wear disposable gloves when handling dirty laundry by a sick person. It is best to dispose of them after each use. Should you use reusable gloves, they must only be used for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces for COVID-19 and not for other household purposes. Clean your hands immediately after removing the gloves. If you do not use gloves when handling dirty laundry, you must also wash your hands afterwards. Also try not to shake the dirty laundry. This minimizes the possibility of viruses spreading in the air. Wash the clothes according to the manufacturer's instructions, if possible with the warmest suitable water setting, and dry everything completely.

Household hygiene is maintained by robots with vacuum cleaners and small buckets

However, you can also wash dirty laundry from a sick person with the bed linen of other people. Clean and disinfect laundry baskets according to the instructions above for surfaces. If possible, get a pouch that is either disposable or washable. The sick person should also eat in their room if possible. You should also treat the disposable food items with gloves and wash them with hot water or in the dishwasher. Clean your hands after handling used food. If possible, dedicate a lined garbage can to the sick person. Use gloves when removing garbage bags, handling and disposing of the garbage. Wash hands after handling or disposing of garbage. Contact your local health department for waste disposal information, if available.

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