Events, gatherings, and even schools are being canceled throughout Northwest Arkansas due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). This will affect our local community in a major way if we don’t all pitch in to “flatten the curve“. A simple way to do this is by keeping your areas Coronavirus-free.
Earlier this week, Walmart announced that they are allowing home office employees to work from home among the coronavirus fears. The increase of event cancellations makes it easy too see why. Right now it is very important for you to keep your home clean. Why? Because you will be spending much more time inside of it!
These are our 5 best tips for keeping the Coronavirus out of your home.
#1. Keep Hand Sanitizer In Your Car and Use It Before Entering Your Home
This isn’t so much a cleaning tip but it’s best the virus before it enters your home.
The best way to keep your living space free of the virus is to not allow it into your home. Simply keep a travel size bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer in your vehicle and use it before going into your home. It’s important to keep the sanitizer in your car because you don’t want the COVID-19 bug hanging around your door handles if you planned on having a bottle inside your home instead. If all else fails you can also wear gloves.
Out Of Hand Sanitizer? Make It Yourself!
We have actually learned it’s quite easy to make alcohol-based hand sanitizers for a fraction of the cost. This hand sanitizer actually works better than a lot of the sanitizers sold in stores.
Ingredients
70% Rubbing Alcohol – Main ingredient. Used to kill bacteria and sanitize your hands.
Aloe Gel – Makes the sanitizer thicker so you can apply it with ease. It’s also good for keeping your hands moisturized.
Instructions
Take any bottle you have available and mix 2/3 70% rubbing alcohol with 1/3 aloe gel. Shake the bottle well till the alcohol and aloe are fully mixed.
If you would like for your hand sanitizer to smell good, you have the option to add a few squirts of your preferred essential oils.
Disinfect Inside Your Car
While you are at it, keep a pack of sanitizing wipes in your car as well and quickly clean commonly touched areas before exiting your car.
#2. Disinfect Your Door Handles and Hand Rails
These are areas that are commonly touched, and should be cleaned regularly to ensure you aren’t spreading germs throughout your house. Simply use a rag with disinfecting spray, and clean these areas once or twice a week. If you have a busy family that is still attending school or events it’s safe to do this more regularly.
Remember, it doesn’t take a lot of disinfectants to kill a virus. Spray the area, let the chemical set for five minutes and then wipe chemical away with a wet cloth. If you are using pre-soaked wipes like Clorox Wipes these are even better because they are easily disposable. Remember to wash your cloth after each use, this goes along with number three in this post.
#3. Wash Your Laundry Daily
This might seem weird, but it makes sense. This is a practice that many medical professionals take advantage of because they are around sick people so frequently.
Change Your Clothes When You Get Home and Wash Your Out and About Clothes
When you get home from being out and about, change your clothes and put them in the washer. This will help keep your clothes clean and safe from germs that may be lingering.
Simply washing your clothes is not always super effective. Here are some of the best practices you should take to make sure you are killing the virus.
Wash Your Whites With Bleach
You should wash any laundry you can with bleach. Bleach helps kill a lot of bacteria so take advantage of this.
If you don’t use bleach frequently, please read the label for instructions on how to properly wash your clothes using bleach.
Wash Your Colors With Peroxide or For-Colors Bleach
I feel safer using peroxide than bleach, even if the bleach is designed to be used for colored clothing. If you choose to clean your clothes using peroxide, just simply add 1 cup of peroxide to your laundry load before washing.
Use Hot Water
Add hot water to your cycle to kill the most germs as possible.
Temperatures above 104 F is best for killing germs.
Dry Your Clothes With The Hottest Setting For 45 Minutes
Heat kills bacteria and 45 minutes gives your clothing enough time to get rid of germs that were leftover from washing.
#4. Disinfect Your Kitchen Consistently
It’s very important to keep your eating areas sanitized to ensure you aren’t directly ingesting COVID-19 bacteria. This means cleaning and sanitizing your kitchen counters before and after you have a snack or meal. When washing dishes, don’t just throw your dirty dishes in the machine and wait. Scrub your dishes by hand, load up your dishwasher, and then start it. When putting your dishes away, be sure to wash your hands before doing so. Another great thing to do is wash your hands before handling food, and before setting the table.
Clean your appliances more often
How often do you disinfect your toaster or coffee maker? Chances are, it’s 0-4 times a year. You should be doing this weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, whichever you prefer. This goes for all of your frequently used appliances. Less used appliances need to be cleaned after each use.
Bye Bye COVID-19
Overall, keeping the Coronavirus out of your house is actually fairly easy, it just requires a little bit more cleaning and sanitizing. Remember to wash your hands, sanitize key touchpoints in your car and home, avoid touching your face, and avoid large crowds. Keep yourself and your home germ-free, and you’ll be as clean as a whistle.
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