Obviously, the big story at the moment is Covid-19 and we are all doing our part to help Canada get through this pandemic by staying in as much as we can and social distancing from others when we have to go out.
The most important piece of advice for fighting the spread of Covid-19 is obviously to wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds while remembering to scrub them everywhere. (And put a little moisturizer on them afterwards. Your hands are probably getting dry and cracked from all the washing. They deserve a little reward, too.)
Something else you can do to help stop the spread is to sanitize high-touch surfaces in your home.
You no doubt know about cleaning your home, but that is not the same thing as disinfecting your home. Even if nobody in your household appears to be sick, you should disinfect your home. The difference between cleaning and disinfecting is that cleaning is when you remove contaminants from a surface while disinfecting is more focussed on killing pathogens. During this time of pandemic, you should be doing both in your home, especially if anyone or anything has come in from outside.
Target high touch surfaces
The novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, can live on surfaces like cardboard for 24 hours, according to research done on the subject. That life span goes up to two or three days on surfaces like plastic and stainless steel.
So, getting these high-touch surfaces is crucial:
- Doorknobs
- Table surfaces
- Hard dining chairs (seat, back, and arms)
- Kitchen counters
- Bathroom counters
- Faucets and faucet knobs
- Toilets (seat and handle)
- Light switches
- TV remote controls
- Game controllers
- Toys
- Phones and electronics like computers and laptops
- Any other high-touch surfaces you can identify in your home.
Clean first, then disinfect:
First, you should clean the surface, making sure to remove any contaminants, dust or debris from them. Soapy water or a household cleaning spray and towel will work fine.
Then, apply a disinfectant that is appropriate for whatever surface you are cleaning. Disinfectant wipes or a disinfectant spray will work.
And that’s it. This simple act of both cleaning and disinfecting the high touch surfaces in your home will help keep your family safe and help all of us slow down and stop the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19.
If you don’t have any or can’t get any disinfectants at this time, doing a thorough job with soap and water or the cleaning products you do have will suffice.
These disinfectants will kill coronaviruses:
- Disinfecting wipes (Clorox, Lysol, or store brand will do)
- Disinfectant spray (Purell, Clorox, Lysol, all make sprays that will work)
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Hydrogen peroxide
If you can’t get your hands on any of these, here is a recipe for a homemade bleach disinfectant spray that you can use as a last resort:
- 4 teaspoons household bleach
- 1L water
- Pour both into a 1L spray bottle & shake vigorously
- Spray on surface to disinfect, let sit for 10 minutes, wipe away with wet cloth
If you have to use bleach, ventilate the area you’re cleaning and wear gloves and be aware that it might damage sensitive surfaces.
As for clothing, washing and drying them regularly will be good enough to disinfect them. You may want to dry them for a little extra or use a higher temperature than you normally do just to be safe. (Don’t forget jackets and backpacks.)
Don’t forget to disinfect any surfaces the dirty laundry comes into contact with and wash your hands after handling dirty laundry, especially if there is a sick person in your household.
According to the federal government’s information page, it is not necessary to disinfect food packaging.
However, because the virus can live on cardboard for 24 hours, wiping down any cardboard boxes is a good idea.
We know it’s a tough time right now and the last thing you want to think about is awnings and shades. But, just in case you are in the market for some, please contact us to discuss how we can help you.