How to clean your house to prevent Covid-19
Whether you’re selling your home and having people enter your property for a private inspection, or you’re rethinking your cleaning techniques, with the Coronavirus pandemic forcing the majority of the world into isolation, it’s now a good time to understand how to properly clean your house to prevent Covid-19.
What could be contaminated in my home?
It’s not clear how long the Coronavirus survives on surfaces and how they get there in the first place. What we do know is that the Coronavirus is mainly transmitted from person to person via tiny droplets of saliva or other bodily fluids that float in the air after a cough or sneeze. That means that the objects and surfaces closest to them may be contaminated and act as points of transmission.
Hands are often responsible for transferring pathogens from one place to another, so the items that people often touch are at greatest risk of being contaminated. This includes TV remotes, fridge doors, kitchen cupboards, kitchen surfaces, taps and door handles, as well as devices such as phones and iPads. If it is similar to other coronaviruses, it could survive anywhere from a few hours up to several days. How long it survives could also depend on temperature, humidity and what the surface is made of.
What should I use to clean and disinfect?
The coronavirus is a delicate and vulnerable structure which means both heat and detergents, including soap, can stop it functioning. Where you think a surface has been contaminated, cleaning it with a common household disinfectant will kill the virus. Remember to wash your hands after cleaning (or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser) and avoid touching your eyes, mouth or nose to protect yourself against catching the virus.
How you clean your house to prevent Covid-19 is also important as you want to avoid recontaminating the surface. Always work from one side of a surface to the other. If you are reusing a cloth, remember to wash it afterwards and let it dry properly before reusing it.
Prevention is always the best option
We’ll always make sure no one who is sick enters your home for a private inspection of your property and we’re currently taking precautions to avoid the spread of the virus when in your home. This includes wearing gloves and asking inspectors to keep their hands to themselves. To avoid the risk of contamination, we’re also offering virtual property inspections to prospective buyers.
Some of us may be exposed to the virus if we still work outside of home or visit somewhere like a shopping centre. To help reduce the amount of contamination of surfaces in your house, cover your cough and sneezes and wash your hands immediately after. You should also wash your hands often, especially after going to the bathroom and before eating.
If someone in your home has, or you think they have, the virus, try isolating them to a room in the house that is separate from other parts of your home and has a separate bathroom. This will help avoid spreading the virus throughout the house and contaminating other surfaces.
By taking extra precautions to clean your home thoroughly, you can avoid spreading the Coronavirus or contaminating other surfaces.
