WHAT YOU NEED TO KILL COVID-19 IN YOUR HOME?

The first thing everyone is doing more lately is washing of hands to protect us from COVID-19. The rate at which hand sanitizers, antibacterial wipes, and soaps are being sold nowadays is rapid, as everyone is now meticulous in keeping themselves free of germs. However, our homes also need some care. Since it has been announced by the government that those at higher risk should remain at home to protect themselves and that everyone who doesn’t have to go out should also stay home for self-protection, we have all being at home for a longer period.
Recently also, the government introduced Stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne metropolitan for 6 weeks, which is still on course.

Can you contract the coronavirus disease from food? How do I go about laundry now? Several household chores have drifted into something uncertainty, and there is anxiety as families struggle to perform the basic tasks while making sure their loved ones remain safe and healthy.
To help our clients and readers, we come up with a list of professional information on the things you need to kill COVID-19 in your home. Before that, let’s take a look at disparities between cleaning, disinfection, and sanitization.

Understand the Difference between Cleaning, Disinfecting and Sanitizing

These three terms are different and not just semantics. They are all dirt, germs, and impurities removal from surfaces or items but with different methods.

Here is an expert’s explanation for the three:

~ Cleaning: It is the physical removal of germs, dirt, bacteria, and viruses, basically with the use of soap and water. Although this process doesn’t kill germs, it reduces the risk of spreading infection by getting them out of surfaces and objects.

~ Disinfection: It involves the use of chemicals to eliminate germs. Although this doesn’t really clean up dirty surfaces or get rid of germs, it, however, kills germs and can mitigate the risk of spreading infection.

~ Sanitization: It deals with removal and reduction of the number of germs to a safe number, as demanded by public health standards.

Sanitization for most of us is the preferred method as it concerns the reduction of the number of germs, rather than eliminating all of them. According to experts, we only need to remove many germs so that we don’t have much risk factor to fear for contracting infectious diseases when performing our day-to-day activities, not to disinfect our house perfectly.

The use of disinfectant for routine activities in the household is more required in the bathrooms, kitchens, and where raw meat is processed, coked, and places that frequently contain contamination such as keys, and door handles. A disinfectant on all surfaces that may have been touched or used by a sick household member is important.

How to clean, disinfect, and sanitize your Household: Using Cleaning to kill COVID-19

There are few things recommended when discussing about the things needed to kill coronavirus in your home. These are as highlighted below:

Purchase Approved Ingredients

Since there are several products available, it is difficult to be sure if you are making the perfect choice when looking for cleaning agents to protect your household against the spread of coronavirus. Use the comprehensive list of EPA approved products as a guide. You will find a unique registration number (EPA Reg. No) on each label and contain instructions as some cleaning solutions may have to soak on the surface for some period before it can be removed. The contact time is 10 minutes, which implies that the surface must remain wet from the disinfecting wipe for more effectiveness.

However, many of us will not like to allow a surface to remain wet for 10 minutes. According to experts, the major thing is to wipe the surface using the cleaner and use proper hand hygiene. Most products claimed to be effective against cold and flu viruses on hard surfaces. Even though their claim may be true, the only approved and sold chemical by the EPA, which controls disinfectants, has been tested in a lab and obtained approval from the EPA.

Squeaky Clean

Making sure your home is clean will keep it far away from the spread of COVID-19 and any other related viruses. If you don’t have anyone showing symptoms of such or diagnosed with COVID-19, then there is a limited chance of having the virus on the surface of your home. However, that the risk is small doesn’t mean it’s out of existence, especially if there is a need for any household member to go out. Frequently touched surfaces are usually the ones that need regular cleaning and disinfection.

This will lower the chance of the virus being transmitted from a surface to your hands. It is important to maintain a hygiene routine with some daily and simple preventive procedures to avoid the spread of viruses since research has suggested that the COVID-19 can remain active on surfaces for days. The risk of the spread of the viruses will be mitigated in high-traffic areas in your home by often wiping them down. These places include:

✓ Desks
✓ Keyboards
✓ Phones
✓ Door handles
✓ Entrance doors
✓ Shared kitchens and bathrooms
✓ Light switches
✓ Car steering wheels
✓ Remote controls

Experts suggest the use of a disinfectant to clean your home surfaces. Floor surfaces receive higher traffic every day. The risk of bringing bacteria and viruses into the home from the outside is higher if household members or visitors fail to remove outdoor shoes or have pets in the household; therefore, it is important that you clean and disinfects surfaces appropriately. Few deep cleaning is not enough; you need to make daily cleaning and disinfecting routine, especially much-used areas.

How to clean your Home to kill COVID-19

It is essential to take regular cleaning and disinfection of high traffic surfaces seriously as a precaution to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. Ensure cleaning product instructions are followed for effective and safe application, which includes precautions to take when using the product, such as putting on gloves and having enough ventilation. You can get a list of recommended products effective against coronavirus from some national authorities or inquiry from us.

~Identify Frequently-touched Surfaces to clean and disinfect

Although each home is different, most-touched surfaces are kitchen surfaces, doorknobs, bathroom surfaces, chairs, toilets, mobile phones, tabs, tables, computers, light switches, remote controls, tablets, favorite toys, keyboards, and game controllers,

~Things to use to clean and disinfect

Firstly, clean a dirty surface with soap or detergent and water. Then apply a disinfectant product that contains alcohol of about 70% or bleach. We do not recommend vinegar or any other natural products this period. Finding disinfectant sprays and wipes can be difficult in many places. In this instance, keep cleaning using soap and water. You may also apply a diluted bleach solution on some surfaces.

How to perform Disinfection

Wiping of cleaning solutions immediately they are applied to a surface is very important. You need to leave many disinfectant products like wipes and sprays on a surface for some minutes, just for effectiveness. Make sure you read and follow the directions to ascertain you are using the products as recommended and to prevent causing damage to fragile and sensitive items like mobile phones and other electronic devices. Try to protect electronics using covers that can be wiped. To make sure you are performing proper surface disinfection, the following tips should be followed:

~ Each cleaning with their differences: According to Dr. Abreu Lanfranco, natural home cleaning products are not recommended because they are yet to be tested for effectiveness against coronavirus. There is no standard in place to ascertain that they are effective against COVID-19, so stay away from assumptions. Rather, the EPA combined a list of household cleaning agents that are potent in eliminating COVID-19 pathogens should be considered. Some of the popular brands on the list include products from Clorox, Lysol, and Seventh Generation.
~ Go through the instructions deeply: To make sure the disinfectants are effective, you must ensure proper use. Also, check the number of time required for the product to remain on the surface. For instance, Lysol Disinfectant Spray must be wet on the surface or 3 minutes and left to dry. This is to allow for the bacteria and viruses walls to break down, according to expert. This generally means the germs are not killed immediately touched by the chemical.

~ Use bleach to make your own disinfectant: As recommended by the CDC, mix 5 tablespoons of bleach with each gallon of water or 4 teaspoons of bleach for each quart of water. Make sure you check the expiration date of the bleach.
~ Put on gloves to protect your skin: Frequent exposure to chemicals can lead to skin rashes. This can also result from regular washing of hands, which you may have noticed already in these past months.
~ Handle electronics carefully: During the disinfection of electronics such as keyboards and phones, make sure you use products that have a minimum of 70% alcohol.
~ Understand that rubbing gets rid of germs when using soap and water to clean: Rubbing creates friction, which breaks down germs. This is effective in hand and surface cleaning, and it is why a recommendation of thorough handwashing for a minimum of 20 seconds is given.
~ Ensure proper storage and keep away from children: Wrong use of cleaning products can be dangerous and should never be ingested.

Do you need a Professional Cleaner?

Although you may be seeing scary stories on COVID-19, you don’t need to panic. There are simple and direct steps to follow to reduce the risk of getting the virus. Keeping good hygiene and regular handwashing are the perfect things you can do to protect yourself, and your family safe. We, at Clean House Melbourne are experienced in keeping germs away from your home. Our professional cleaners are trained to discover omitted spots. They know the right cleaning solutions to get rid of coronavirus from your home and keeping your home safe and healthy throughout this period and beyond.