How to Clean Your Home to Help Reduce the Spread of the Flu

¨       Everyone in the home should wash his or her hands regularly in warm soapy water. For quick disinfecting, use alcohol-based antibacterial hand sanitizer. Make an effort not to touch your mouth, eyes or nose without first washing your hands.

 ¨       When cleaning, always wear rubber gloves to protect yourself.

 ¨       Regularly use household disinfectant on any surfaces that are commonly touched, like toys, doorknobs, appliance handles, remote controls, light switches, phones, and facial tissue box covers. Follow proper usage instructions on the product label. Some viruses can live for up to 48 hours on hard surfaces.

 ¨       Use disinfecting spray in bathrooms. Spray disinfecting cleaner on a cloth and wipe clean toilet handles and seats, faucets, showers, tubs and sinks. Allow the disinfectant to air dry for several minutes.

 ¨       Make sure to wash items like towels and bedding in hot water with detergent. Be sure not to share these items until they are thoroughly washed if someone has been sick in the home.

¨       If multiple toothbrushes are kept in a common container, boil toothbrushes for one minute in water and vinegar, put them through the dishwasher or purchase new ones.

 ¨       To protect yourself at work, use antibacterial wipes on your keyboard, phone and writing utensils regularly, in case others have used them.

 

 

To Disinfect or to Sanitize? That is the question!

Do you know the difference between disinfecting and sanitizing? When you have a big mess on your hands and need to find a product and method to clean up-do you sanitize or disinfect? Sanitizers are agents that destroy 99.999% of bacteria in 30 seconds according to a public health test called the Official Detergent Sanitizer test. According to the AOAC Use Dilution test, disinfectants are products that destroy all organisms in 10 minutes.

Sanitizing is a chemical process that will lessen or kill germs on surfaces to make then safe for use. It is important to sanitize your kitchen and surfaces that you prepare food on. It would also be wise to sanitize toys that come in contact with an infant's mouth. Usually your dishwasher comes with a sanitizing cycle during which your dishes and utensils will become as clean as possible.

Disinfecting requires a stronger solution to destroy germs rather than reducing them. You might want to disinfect the baby's diaper pail or changing table or the phone receiver during flu season. Other places to disinfect would be any area that comes in contact with blood or body fluids.