Green Cleaning for COVID-19

Recently discovered, the coronavirus has forced practically all countries to take internal measures to prevent its spread and increase cases of the disease COVID-19, caused by it. And one of the main determinations is to avoid places with confined people, such as bars, supermarkets, parties, and even the work office.

 

As a result, many companies have adopted the home office work scheme, in which employees work remotely, most of the time, from their own homes. And for the home to be a safe place, it is important to adopt some cleaning measures, which start with good hand hygiene and proceed to the disinfection routine of food, personal objects, and the home itself. To make no mistake, we have made a guide with the best tips for you to clean and disinfect your home, and items such as clothes, credit card, cell phone, and shoes.

 

1 - Wash your hands with soap and water or alcohol gel

The transmission of the coronavirus can occur through droplets of saliva or mucus, expelled through the mouth or nostrils when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Or through viral particles transferred by shaking hands or sharing an object, such as drinking from the same glass as a carrier of the virus. That is, if the virus appears inside the house, we are responsible for taking it there!

 

Therefore, washing your hands is one of the simplest measures to prevent the virus from spreading. But don't just put your hand under the tap for a few seconds. Washing needs to be generous to be effective: soap and water must cover the entire hand and between the fingers! The alcohol gel 70% should also be applied when there is the possibility to hand wash or whenever leaving home.

 

Hand washing needs to be done even when you are alone at home. This is because there is a possibility that a person is infected with the coronavirus and still does not have the symptoms manifested - pain, nasal congestion, runny nose, and sore throat. You can take COVID-19 from someone who had just a slight cough without feeling sick.

2 - Supermarket delivery (but with care)

With the recommendation to avoid closed places and with a large concentration of people, the trip to the supermarket will need to be postponed. Important! Use a glove to handle the packaging and food received by the delivery, which must be cleaned and disinfected before going to the refrigerator or pantry.

 

3 - In addition to cleaning, your home needs to be disinfected

Many people love to postpone cleaning at home, but in times of coronavirus prevention, this step cannot be skipped. After cleaning and removing dust (or heavier dirt) from floors, countertops, computers, remote controls, telephones, and door handles, it is necessary to apply a disinfectant. In that case, you can use whatever you have in the closet. Here is how to define the main items in your home :

 

▪️ How to disinfect clothes:

All clothing that arrives from the street must be removed as soon as you arrive home and stored in a plastic bag. When washing, soap alone will not be enough to rid you of traces of coronavirus. It is necessary to soak clothes with a common disinfectant for about 10 minutes before going to the washing machine. If you are going to hit white clothes, the disinfectant can be replaced by Laundry Powder Oxygen Bleach.

▪️ How to disinfect cell phone:

Because the coronavirus survives on surfaces such as glass, metal, and plastic - materials that are likely to exist in your cell phone, it is important to clean and disinfect it whenever you return from the street. To avoid damage to your equipment, avoid applying water and product directly to the device. You can disinfect your cell phone in two ways: with a cloth moistened with water and a little detergent or with alcohol gel, also applied with a flannel cloth. This last tip has even been recommended by Apple itself. Before cleaning, the phone must be unplugged and turned off. You will also need to remove the case and any other accessories that are connected (cables or headphones).

▪️ How to disinfect your credit card:

To disinfect your credit card we recommend cleaning it with alcohol gel whenever it is used. And do not neglect the cleaning of your credit card, because, in a time of the coronavirus pandemic, it can be easily contaminated in pharmacies and supermarkets.

 

▪️ How to disinfect fruits and vegetables:

Nothing to leave to wash only when eating. To eliminate any traces of coronavirus from fruits and vegetables, you need to wash and disinfect them as soon as they arrive at your home. The first step is to clean fruits and vegetables with water to get rid of superficial dirt. Then, soak them in a solution with 1 liter of water for half a spoon of bleach. After removing the water from the solution, it is necessary to wash each fruit under running water to get the excess product out.

 

▪️ How to disinfect shoes:

As it is in direct contact with the street floor and commercial establishments, it is very important to disinfect your shoes whenever you return to the house. After cleaning the bulk of the dirt with a damp cloth or paper towel, spray detergent or chlorine bleach, without being diluted with water and wait to dry.

How to disinfect doormat:

Despite being outside the house, the doormat remains an important point of attention when it comes to preventing the transmission of the coronavirus. To clean the item, we recommend spraying a disinfectant solution based on quaternary ammonium on the carpet daily.

 

How to disinfect fabrics (curtains, cushions, and rugs)

Your home decor also needs to be protected in times of coronavirus. To disinfect the fabrics, use a spray with water, baking soda and vinegar and spray on curtains, pillows, and rugs.

 

4 - Special attention with cleaning the bathroom and kitchen

During the coronavirus period, cleaning the bathroom and kitchen should be done more carefully. The number one recommendation is to use disinfectant or chlorine to disinfect the entire room. In the kitchen, use the product on the floor, cladding, and countertop. In the bathroom, in addition to the floor and wall covering, the mirror, the flush valve, and, mainly, the handle needs to be cleaned with the same products. Also, avoid leaving the toothbrush exposed. Leave it in the bathroom cabinet or with a lid. The face towel should be changed more frequently and, if another resident has symptoms of Covid-19, it should be for individual use.

5 - Arrived on a trip?

In addition to the previous recommendations, those who are arriving from travel should take other precautions, since the chance of having crossed with someone infected, without knowing it, is even greater. In such cases, it is advisable to put the clothes to wash as soon as you get home and to disinfect the suitcase and backpacks used for commuting. Especially those that were dispatched by plane. To do this, use sprays with disinfectant and water.

6 - Leave the house always open

During this alert period, it is important to leave the house open and well ventilated to prevent the virus from spreading, recommends The Government of the Hong Kong special administrative region. Air conditioning should also be avoided, as it makes it difficult to renew the air.

 

7- Party in the room: this is not the best time

Many people are planning small gatherings and dinners with friends at home to make up for the fact that they cannot be in crowded places. But they do not understand that the house itself can become a place of agglomeration if outsiders arrive. At this point, there is no point in taking a risk! Leave to find your friends later.

 

8 - Have fun at home (no visits!)

Netflix may be victorious in the fight for the audience of people who are isolated at home. However, you can take advantage of these days to do minor repairs at home or start that DIY project you've been putting off for a few months. For those who have children at home, a suggestion is to invent games using items you have at home.

9 - Do not share personal objects

Clothes, cutlery, and crockery are objects that, if used by infected people, can contribute to spreading the virus. The ideal is to wash everything very well or even avoid sharing these items in the most critical phase of the virus's spread.