How to clean your home during corona pandemic: Tips by experts for effective cleaning to keep the disease causing microbes away

• Coronavirus pandemic has triggered alarms on personal hygiene and keeping homes as clean as possible to prevent the entry of these deadly microbes.
• Experts reveal the most effective home cleaning tips that can keep the disease causing microbes at bay.
• Read on to know the best cleaning tips that can save your family during the corona pandemic.

Know how cleaning differs from disinfection

To clean your house effectively during corona pandemic you must first know the difference between cleaning and disinfecting as the latter is essential to achieve a thorough cleaning that can guarantee that the microbes are kept at bay. Cleaning refers to mere physical cleaning that will remove the organic matter like dirt and germs from the surface. Disinfecting means employing chemicals to kill the germs on the surfaces. Before you disinfect, cleaning is important as organic matter can inhibit the disinfectant’s ability to put an end to the germs.

Give a thorough cleaning to frequently touched items

Frequently touched items can include the remotes of TVs, doors of refrigerators, kitchen cupboards, kitchen surfaces, door handles and taps. It is very important to clean these frequently shared items that can spread the germs between people.

Prevention is the best approach

Surfaces play a significant role in transmitting the pathogens. Hence preventing them from getting contaminated is important as cleaning. To prevent or reduce the extent of contamination of surfaces in your house, cover your coughs and sneezes with tissue and wash your hands immediately after. Washing hands with soap and water often and especially before eating and after using the toilet is very important.

Best cleaning practices to combat corona pandemic

Most viruses have a delicate structure that is highly vulnerable to destruction under a tough environment. Detergents and heat are found effective to stop the microbe from functioning. There are so many options available for cleaning like cloth, disposable wipes, towels and tissues.

When you use a disinfectant, always depend on those products that have more than 60% alcohol as ethyl alcohol is the best ingredient you can depend on to kill most microbes.

Washing with soap and water is the best approach. Add a few drops of dish soap to eight ounces of water. Though soap water might not be able to kill all germs, scrubbing with soapy water can do the trick in removing coronavirus from any surface.

How you clean is a very important aspect you must focus on. It is important that you do not contaminate the surfaces once again while cleaning. While cleaning, work from one side of the surface to the other following an ‘S’ pattern.

When you use cloth for cleaning, do not forget to wash it and dry it after you use it. A hot wash on the laundry machine using a detergent can be a dependable way to disinfect the cloths used for cleaning.

Using a dish washer for cleaning cutlery and dishes is more recommended since it can use hotter water than what can be tolerated by your hands.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/world/clean-home-coronavirus.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8122433/Cleaning-expert-reveals-tips-protect-home-coronavirus.html

http://theconversation.com/how-to-clean-your-house-to-prevent-the-spread-of-coronavirus-and-other-infections-133912