How to Disinfect Your Home & Prevent Spreading Germs

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Washing your hands frequently is one of the best steps you can take, but the germs can still cling to surfaces you carry with you into your home, like your clothes, shoes, bags and even your phone or tablet. Fortunately, the EPA has released a list of products that are considered effective at killing germs, in particular against coronavirus.

Clean contact points

The first step to figuring out how to prevent germs from spreading is knowing the main contact points in your home and office. For everyday cleaning, plain soap or all-purpose cleaner can do the trick. But when someone in your house is sick, a disinfectant product can help kill household germs. The CDC recommends disinfecting areas where there can be large numbers of household germs — and where there is a possibility that these germs could be spread to others. Here are some hotspots to hit:

  • Door knobs, handles or locks
  • Light switches
  • Stair rails
  • Faucet and toilet handles
  • Refrigerator handles and stove knobs
  • Remote controls
  • Phones and tables

Understand disinfectant

When thinking about how not to spread germs, many people are quick to reach for disinfectant sprays or wipes. These can be effective means of killing many germs if used properly. Unfortunately, some people are under the impression that you can simply spritz or wipe with disinfectant and be done with it. There are actually three steps you need to take to disinfect surfaces:

  • Clean the surface by misting it with the appropriate cleaner and wiping that with a microfiber cloth. Keep in mind, you’re just using a household cleaner at this point, not a disinfectant.
  • Apply your disinfectant to the surface and allow that to sit for the recommended time found on the product label. This is important because it gives the disinfectant time to work.
  • Rinse or wipe the surface to clean away any residue left by the disinfectant.
  • Use a bleach mixture to clean floors.

Your shoes step on a lot of gross stuff during the day and if you don’t take them off when you come into the house, you could track in viruses and other germs. To clean the floors in your kitchen and bathroom, the CDC recommends using 1 cup of bleach mixed with 5 gallons of water to mop your floors.

Note that you’ll need to use a different disinfectant for porous floors, for example if you use bleach on hardwood, it can remove the stain color. Instead, use a disinfecting wet mop cloth on your hardwood floors or hydrogen peroxide diluted to 0.5% concentration for effective use against coronaviruses on surfaces. It should be left on surfaces for one minute before wiping.

Whatever cleaning solution you use, let it remain in contact with the surface long enough to kill germs. The time needed will depend on the chemical.

If you need professional help in cleaning and disinfecting your home, call Viola Cleaning. We offer an experienced, professional crew, the best cleaning equipment, and affordable packages of cleaning and disinfection services.

Contact Viola Cleaning to get started. Please call (206) 465-4103 for more information.