Unfortunately, some viruses and bacteria can survive in domestic conditions for a really long time. According to WHO, research indicates that the coronavirus can survive on surfaces for several hours to several days. Acteria have even higher record results in this respect. For example, E.coli can last up to 16 months on damp surfaces, such as bathroom tiles! That is why it is so important to clean your apartment frequently. "It does not kill the germs, but their removal lower the risk of spreading infection" – states the website of the American government agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their recommendations for coronavirus protection
How to fight germs?
Effective cleaning of the apartment is best done with detergents containing alcohol, chlorine or hydrogen peroxide. Homemade preparations with vinegar may prove to be too weak in the fight against germs. It is best to immediately check if we have the necessary products in the apartment: laundry detergents, sanitizers with alcohol, dishwashing liquid, sanitary cleaners.
When cleaning, it is also important to follow the recommendations of cleaning product manufacturers. They may turn out to be slightly different from our habits. Some products need to be given time to "work" and left for a few tens of seconds instead of being immediately wiped off the surfaces to be cleaned.
Cleaning safety
It is good to use plastic gloves to protect your hand skin, though you must remember to wash your hands before putting them on. You can use disposable gloves and dispose of them as soon as possible after use, or those that are reusable, but remember to carefully disinfect them after cleaning. The same applies to sponges, cloths and mops. How to clean them? Cloths and sponges should be washed at high temperatures with the addition of washing powder and bleach. After cleaning, the mops should be dipped for a while in hot water with the addition of a universal liquid, rinsed, and then thoroughly squeezed and dried. Dust, hair and other impurities should be removed manually from the brushes, and then rinsed in a container with warm water with the addition of washing powder or dishwashing liquid.
Universality wanted
You should clean those surfaces that you normally try to keep clean, such as carpets, floors, tiles or laminated floors. Conventional products, preferably universal ones, are suitable for this purpose because they can be used to clean different types of surfaces. Sidolux universal cleaners available in a wide range of scents provide a good example. They soften water so that they quickly remove dirt from tiles or floors and are very efficient. What is important, they contain alcohol. Using Sidolux universal cleaners, you can be sure that you have properly cleaned the whole house while maintaining a pleasant fragrance – such as the iconic Marseille Soap.
Which places and things need to be disinfected?
It is important to remember to keep clean frequently used items. These include soap dishes, taps, sinks, worktops, bathroom taps. Specialists recommend cleaning the bathtub after each bath, and the toilet seat at least three times a week, necessarily with a product containing a disinfectant. It is also good to teach all household members to lower the toilet lid down. When flushing the toilet with the lid open, faecal flora floats in the air with water droplets. It is deposited on all surrounding objects – for example, toothbrushes.....
While cleaning, you must also not omit things that you have not always remembered about disinfecting before – the ones you touch every day. These include light switches, remote controls, handles, cabinet and refrigerator holders, contact plugs, coat and jacket hangers, keys and, of course, telephones. Let's clean them as often as possible with products containing alcohol.
High temperatures and fresh air are extremely helpful
Getting rid of viruses and bacteria from the house is also supported by frequent washing of clothes at high temperatures. 60º is the minimum. It is good to remember to change towels and kitchen cloths as often as possible. Before entering the apartment, it is advisable to clean your shoes carefully, and when you cross the threshold of the apartment, change the clothes you wear and put them in the washing machine right away. Jackets and coats are recommended to be kept in the closet, as they also carry numerous germs.
It is also worth to wash the bed linen more frequently than usual. The mattresses should be ventilated from time to time, and if this is not possible, at least spray them with the tea tree oil, which has disinfectant properties. The apartment needs to be ventilated as often as possible. The exchange of air is the fastest when you wide open a window or windows. During cold days even 5 minutes of such ventilation will bring positive effects. Holders of air cleaners should not hesitate to use them as often as possible. These devices not only remove bacteria and viruses from the air we breathe but also fungi, smog or mould spores.
It is worth the trouble for safety reasons
This way of cleaning requires a little more time and effort, but it helps to protect our health and the health of our loved ones in a place that we treat as a safe haven. Our apartment will never be completely free of germs (it is worth remembering that most of them are harmless to people), but, especially now, it is worth trying to make sure that there are as few of them as possible in our immediate surroundings.
