Like many people, you are spending a lot of time at home these days. You are already familiar with the means of protection you should take while going outside to avoid germs, but there are several tips you should follow in order to keep your personal space as safer as possible during the Coronavirus pandemic. Why you should stay at home? You may be asymptomatic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t spread the disease. Secondly, you are exposing yourself to getting the virus. You have to be vigilant and to avoid bringing the virus into your home space. Here are several tips to help you clean and disinfect your house during these hard times.
Sanitize your hands before entering the house
The germs on your hands are the most dangerous, so you should wash and sanitize your hands as often as possible. Don’t touch your face unless your hands are clean and if possible, keep hand sanitizer with you so you don’t leave potentially harmful pathogens on your car’s steering wheel or a doorknob going into your home.
Try to keep hand sanitizer on you at all times, advises Dr. Elizabeth Scott, professor of microbiology at Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community at Simmons University in Boston. She says she uses it in 2 scenarios when she’s out and about: “If I am out in my car, I sanitize my hands as soon as I get back into the car following essential trips to the store,” she says. “Or, If I am just walking back into the house, I sanitize my hands before I enter.”
Put your shopping bags on the floor, not on the table
You have to be vigilant about the grocery store hauls because germs can live on surfaces like bags for several hours. Don’t place your groceries on the counter. The same tip applies for just-delivered packages you are accustomed to putting on the kitchen table.
After sanitizing your hands and getting in the house, put your grocery store haul on the floor. You can hang your purse or bag on a hook with your keys—or put them wherever you normally do, as long as you’re not cross-contaminating high-contact areas like your counter or dining room table.
Don’t wear your street clothes and shoes at home
Your shoes and clothes are also potential germ-carriers, no matter where you ventured to. Always take your shoes and jacket off when you get home and place them in a designated area. Don’t place the jacket on the couch or in the dining room. Better leave it in the hallway. Take a new set of clothes you use it just at home. Place your street clothes directlu into the hamper or wash the clothes right away.
Once again, wash your hands
It’s time to remove the germs from your hands so you don’t transfer them to all the surfaces you’re about to touch in your home, now that your dirty clothes are off your body. After you’ve washed your hands, you can put away groceries or open up the mail. You’re free to relax if you just went outside for a walk and you’re sure your hands are clean!
