It is important to keep your home clean during the coronavirus outbreak.
• The best ways of protecting homes from coronavirus.
• Households are a new frontier in the fight against coronavirus
• Experts advise detergent and disinfectant are needed to clean surfaces
• They say to target high traffic areas like doorknobs, handles and benches
We are recommending a series of practical steps for maintaining good hygiene at home.
• Wipe down items brought into the house – Non-porous items like takeaway containers can be wiped down with detergent or soapy water and fresh produce should be washed.
• Wash your hands, thoroughly. – Once inside, a thorough hand wash with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds is essential.
What cleaning products work best?
Scientists have shown that COVID-19 can survive outside the body on plastic and stainless steel surfaces for up to 72 hours.
Highly sought-after products like hand sanitiser and disinfectant sprays were not enough to kill the virus on their own.
Detergents are the key to breaking down the layers of dirt and dust to allow disinfectants to work.Disinfectants don’t work by just splashing them about. They can’t break through dirt and organic material that’s left on surfaces, so you need to clean that first and then use the disinfectant.
Target ‘high-touch’ surfaces
As the virus is commonly transferred by hand-to-face touching, experts recommend wiping down all surfaces that are regularly handled.
High traffic surfaces should be wiped down with disinfectant and detergent. Wipe down doorknobs, switches, and mobile phones twice a day
• If you just want to clean, then hot, soapy water is generally enough
• If you want to disinfect, clean first, then disinfect with the least toxic, most biodegradable product that does the job
• Make sure that whichever product you use, you don’t damage the surface you’re working on
• Different advice might apply if there’s someone at home with an open wound or a poor immune system
How to keep your home clean and free from coronavirus? – What if someone falls ill?
Should a member of the household show symptoms of COVID-19 they should be quarantined to one room, preferably with their own bathroom. Contact with others should be at a minimum for a fortnight
If a member of the house is feeling unwell, cleaning around areas they frequented needed to be more thorough and more frequent
Clean the area within their room a little more often, using disinfectant after washing hands, and cleaning the taps
If possible, clothes and bed sheets — handled with gloves and surgical masks — should be washed more frequently to minimise the risk of transmission.
The clothing and cutlery used by an infected person can also spread the virus so they should be kept separate.
For more tips on How to keep your home clean and free from coronavirus you can check out the rest of our blog posts.
