If someone in your home has the flu, a cold, or any other contagious illness, one of our main responsibilities is to stop the illness from spreading to other family members. To prevent the spreading of an illness, on top of washing hands regularly, what you can do is also have adequate cleaning because viruses may dwell on surfaces in your house. You need to do a thorough cleaning, to make sure that all bacteria or viruses are truly gone and won’t affect anyone else at the house. Here’s what you can do to properly clean your house after a family member is sick!
Having proper cleaning supplies
In many cases, eliminating viruses, bacteria, and other germs won’t be possible with just plain water and mild cleansers. It is not enough just to wipe everything quickly. Use a disinfectant as directed, give it time to work, and observe all safety precautions.
When using a commercial cleaner, follow the instructions on the label. Apply the solution to the surface that needs cleaning by dipping a clean, white cloth or paper towel into it. After allowing it to sit for at least three minutes, clean the surface with water afterward. Spray bottles can also be used to apply the bleach solution.
When you’re done with a paper towel, throw it away. If you use a cloth, wash it every time you use it. Since sponges can harbor bacteria in their crevices, they shouldn’t be used to clean your house after someone is sick. Instead, you can use a cotton swab dipped in disinfectant to get into small gaps on objects with small crevices like remote controls and computer keyboards.
Remember to not mix disinfectant cleaners with other cleaning products, such as ammonia, because it can produce toxic fumes which can cause injury or even death.
Clean the bedrooms
When someone is sick, they spend all their time cowered in bed. This is why the bedding fabric becomes one of the most contaminated things. It’s crucial to sanitize the bed sheets in order to avoid catching the illness from others.If your children are the ones who just recovered from illness, do not forget to also clean the plush animal doll which they use to sleep with.
Wearing clear vinyl gloves when handling filthy bedding is one of the best things you can do to avoid contracting the illness. Keep the bedding, at the absolute least, away from your face and torso. After you finish with the bedding, now it’s time to sanitize all the items that people often touch, such as light switches, doorknobs, and remote controls.
Bathrooms can be full of germs, and those germs can spread toward each other if someone is sick. Clean the following items and surfaces with a disinfectant cleaner at least once each day:
• Toilet handle and seat
• Sink and shower handles
• Light switches
• Doorknobs
• Floor
• Toiletries
To kill germs, wash towels and bath mats in hot water and dry them at a hot temperature.
Do not forget to throw away the ill person’s toothbrush after they feel well, and wash the toothbrush holder.
Clean the living room
It might be challenging to limit a sick person to not going anywhere and only staying in their bedroom, especially if the person who is sick -is your beloved toddler. What you can do is cover the furniture with washable sheets or blankets to avoid contaminating the upholstery in the living room. Additionally, get rid of decorative pillows that are difficult to clean or cover them with pillowcases that can be easily cleaned. Surfaces including phones, computers, remote controls, light switches, and doorknobs should also be cleaned and disinfected frequently.
Clean the kitchens
A sick individual shouldn’t be in charge of cooking for others in order to stop the spread of germs. When it comes to contagious diseases like corona, rigorous hand washing may not be sufficient to keep others safe. The best course of action is to keep the sick individual away from the kitchen as much as possible because there are so many commonplace products and surfaces in a kitchen that germs can spread.
All utensils and plates that the sick person used should be washed in a dishwasher on high heat or, if you’re hand washing, it should be dipped in a disinfectant solution. Use disinfectant to wipe down hard surfaces, such as tables, refrigerator handles, drawers, and cabinet hardware.
Clean the cars
If a sick individual has traveled in a vehicle during the time when they are sick, then the vehicle will need to be cleaned to remove any bacteria that may have been left behind.
Clean the steering wheel, interior, and exterior door handles, dashboard and car keys. It is crucial to disinfect every crevice of the car with a disinfectant spray to kill all the germs that might be looming in the car.
Here are some useful cleaning tips that you can implement if your family members become sick. You definitely don’t want to catch the same illness, thus it is important to thoroughly disinfect your house. Keeping your living space clean and germ-free is the optimal way to keep your family healthy and safe from dangerous viruses!
