Tips on Properly Cleaning Your Home

Keep Your Family Safe with these Cleaning Tips

It’s important to maintain a clean home to keep you and your family safe. Taking steps beyond vacuuming and dusting are necessary to make it hard for unwelcome guests like coronavirus-causing and other nasty stuff to take hold. Here are some tips on properly cleaning and disinfecting your home space. 

Use the Right Supplies

Gathering the right supplies is a critical step in the disinfection process, according to SFGate. In particular, it is important to read labels on cleaning supplies to ensure that they actually disinfect. A spray or cleaner’s label should read that it “sanitizes and disinfects.” The sanitization feature wipes out 99 percent of bacteria quickly, and disinfectants “kill all specified organisms” over a period of time.

Additionally, keep in mind that disinfectant wipes can be an invaluable weapon in the fight against germs. They can play a role in a deep clean or, as CNET’s Katie Conner writes, be used to quickly remove germs from a surface. 

SFGate also points out that certain precautions can help you stay safe while disinfecting. For instance, disposable gloves both protect your hands and cut down on the spread of germs. If your cleaners generate fumes, be sure to keep doors and windows open during the cleaning process.

Don’t Neglect Soft Surfaces

Soft surfaces, such as bedding materials and linens, need to be disinfected as well, as advised by SFGate. To disinfect them, run them through your washing machine at a high temperature, and then dry them using the hottest setting your dryer makes possible. For furniture and carpets, disinfectant spray will do the trick. (Before you spray a large area, perform a test on a small patch to make sure discoloration won’t be an issue.)

Clean Hard Surfaces

Hard surfaces are a primary target for disinfection. Be sure to read the instructions of your cleaner carefully, and allow ample time for the disinfectant to do its work while drying. SFGate recommends focusing on areas that are frequently touched, such as doorknobs, counters, “railings and chair backs.” Conner’s advice adds remote controls, cabinet handles, and refrigerator doors to this list. Once the disinfectant has had enough time to work, use a fresh disposable towel to wipe each surface down.

Clean Regularly Used Items

The disinfection process extends to less-obvious items, such as wastebaskets, toys, and dishes. Keep those clean, and also be sure to regularly dispose of used tissues rather than letting them linger in trash cans.

Encourage Good Habits

Proper disinfecting is a great first step. However, ongoing good habits are necessary to truly reap the benefits of a clean home. The following strategies, recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), can help members of your household stay healthy:

• Encourage people not to touch their face.
• Clean hands regularly and at the door.
• Keep sneezes and coughs covered.
• Use open windows or air conditioning to boost ventilation.
• After your initial cleaning, make it a habit to disinfect surfaces regularly. 

The CDC recommends going even further if a member of your household is a vulnerable senior or has “significant underlying conditions.” For instance, healthy people should “conduct themselves as if they” pose a high level of risk to vulnerable individuals. The CDC also advises that, if possible, providing a separate space for at-risk individuals can help. Regular cleaning of utensils and all surfaces can help as well.

If a household member is actively sick, the CDC again recommends setting aside a room for him or her. Designate a single family member to provide care. 

Take Care All

Disinfecting is a big job, but it is an important one. You’ll be up to the task with the aforementioned knowledge on your side.

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