Recommendations For Cleaning And Disinfecting The Home
It never hurts to learn some recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting the home. Also, when a family member falls ill, it is wise to make an extra effort in cleaning the home to reduce the risk of infection and spread.
Sometimes contagion occurs through droplets that come from the nose or mouth of an infected person. This drip can fall on nearby surfaces and objects, which also poses a risk of infection.
In these cases, if the person has contact with them and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth, they can become infected. Therefore, a proper general cleaning is also important. What should we keep in mind?
How to clean and disinfect the home?
Strategies for cleaning and disinfecting the home are aimed at limiting the survival of viruses and bacteria that may reside inside. They are guidelines that can help prevent many infectious processes.
And it is that, in general, an adequate cleaning of the spaces of the home is synonymous with well-being. This allows to eliminate germs, dirt and all kinds of impurities that can facilitate the transmission of infections. In addition, combined with disinfection products, it helps kill germs present on surfaces. Let’s see in detail.
Routine home cleaning and disinfection
Often throughout the day, we have continuous contact with certain surfaces of the home. Whether tables, doorknobs, light switches, toilets, taps, etc., it is important to ensure proper disinfection. And we say disinfection because its superficial cleaning is not enough.
In this regard, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises using household cleaners and disinfectants that are endorsed by the EPA, and that are appropriate for the surface. Thus, the ideal thing is to take a few minutes to read the information on the label. This, among other things, is essential to give them proper use.
Households with people with infectious diseases: what to watch out for?
For homes where people with infectious diseases reside, the CDC makes more stringent recommendations for cleanliness.
In addition, through the home care instructions, they remind that the person should stay away, as far as possible, from other members of the family. In general, in these cases, caregivers and patients should attend to the following:
- Clean and disinfect continuous contact surfaces daily, such as those mentioned in the previous section.
- Wash the bathroom and items for personal use of all family members, especially the sick person, more regularly. Towels, bedding, clothing, etc. are included here.
- Unless it is a child, disabled person or people who cannot come in contact with disinfectants, the caregiver can provide personal cleaning products for the infected person.
- If there is only one bathroom in the home, it should be cleaned and disinfected after each use per person.
Final recommendations for cleaning and disinfection
There are other preventive measures that we can implement during the home cleaning and disinfection process. They should be applied both in case of suspected infection, and whenever there is a risk of infections of any kind.
- Wear disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. These should be for single use only.
- When removing the gloves, you must wash your hands well, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water.
- To clean some types of surfaces you can use a diluted solution of household bleach, but following the ventilation and use instructions. The solution is prepared by mixing 5 tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water.
- All soft or porous surfaces, such as carpets and rugs, should be cleaned regularly with the appropriate cleaners. In addition, it is convenient to wash these items using hot water.
- Gloves are also due when handling dirty clothes from a sick person. These items should not be shaken and should be washed with warmer water whenever possible.
Finally, it is worth remembering the importance of ensuring optimal hand hygiene. Washing them with soap and water, several times a day, is key to reducing all kinds of risks of infection and spread. Washing should be reinforced if there are sick people in the home.
In addition, it must be repeated when in contact with pets, when preparing food, before eating, after entering the bathroom, after blowing the nose, coughing or sneezing, among other situations of consideration.
