Posted on January 27th, 2020
It’s common for people to panic during the flu season, or when someone in their household randomly goes down with a cold. As a result, Americans tend to spend many hours frantically cleaning every surface in their home in an attempt to stop the microbes from spreading.
There’s no reason to go to such lengths. It’s much more effective to focus on a few specific shared areas and frequently touched surfaces, and make disinfectants a regular part of your standard home cleaning in Indianapolis.
In previous articles, we explained why cleaning is crucial and how to efficiently declutter your home. Now we’ll tell you how and what to disinfect in order to minimize the chance of you or your loved ones catching the flu or even the common cold. Read on to learn more.
What should I disinfect?
Every person is different, and so is every home. Not everybody touches the same things with the same frequency, so you should take a good long look at your daily habits and figure out which parts of your house and belongings you come in contact with most often.
That being said, here are some items almost everyone uses all the time:
- Bathrooms
Hair, bodily fluids, bits of skin, and so on, can all be found on bathroom surfaces. In addition to disinfecting this area, you should also make sure a sick person has a dedicated towel that nobody else uses.
- Phone
Not only are you constantly touching your phone with your hands, it also spends a lot of time in your pockets, on desks, and might even be borrowed by others occasionally. Seeing as flu and cold viruses can survive on phones for anywhere between a couple hours to a few days, this makes them extremely likely to spread germs.
- Countertops and tables
Countertops and tables get touched and leaned on all the time. Crumbs and droplets can fall out of a sick person’s mouth during eating and further contaminate the tabletops.
- Towels, blankets, and sheets
Towels, blankets, and sheets all tend to collect sweat and microscopic bits of skin that can carry viruses and bacteria. You can disinfect them by using a color-safe bleach detergent and washing them at high temperatures.
- Remotes, joypads, computers, etc.
These items get touched all the time and are almost never cleaned. Because they’re often shared between multiple members of a household, they can spread germs like nobody’s business.
- Toys
Toys and stuffed animals also get handled a lot and can easily serve as a vessel for bacteria and viruses. Luckily for you, stuffed animals can be washed in the laundry while plastic toys can be put in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.
What disinfectants should I use?
There are many reliable cleaning products on the market that have been specifically designed to destroy cold and flu viruses. This will typically be written on the label so make sure to check that when buying them.
If you’re using disinfectant sprays, remember to use paper towels or disposable disinfectant wipes. This is because dishcloths and sponges only spread the chemicals around, whereas paper towels immediately soak everything up and can be safely discarded afterward.
Where can I schedule the finest home cleaning in Indianapolis?
Keeping your house clean while also caring for a sick kid can be incredibly stressful and time-consuming. Things can get outright overwhelming if you also have to take them to a doctor’s appointment at the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health!
The good news is: you’re not on your own. Deluxe Maid specializes in sending the finest maids Indianapolis has ever seen directly to your door. Simply go to our website and use our super-fast booking form to order a cleaning today.
The cleaners we work with will expertly disinfect your home, and help keep you and your family safe from dangerous diseases.