How to clean and sanitize your home amid COVID-19
As both homeowners and businesses try to keep their environments germ-free, cleaning companies are seeing a big uptick in requests for sanitizing services.
But not everyone can or wants to bring a professional cleaner into their home, so we asked the experts for tips on how to disinfect thoroughly on your own.
"This is part of our normal cleaning but what we're doing differently is we're really focusing on all the high touchpoints in the house. These are things like doorknobs, fridge handles and countertops. They also happen to be the type of surfaces, you know metal and hard plastics, that will really keep that virus living on them for much longer than other surfaces such as like porous wood or fabric," said Jesse Zook of MaidPro.
Recent studies show COVID-19 could survive on plastic surfaces for as long as three hours. And while many consumers might want to bring a professional cleaner into their home, in most cases, you don't need to.
"Yeah, you can absolutely clean the house yourself. If you're not a higher risk category," said Peter Rose of Home Hero.
But according to Rose, make sure you do it right with the correct supplies and method.
"The key is the way it's applied. You know, a quick wipe is not enough to get rid of coronavirus or any other bacteria. What you really need to do is spray it down until it's fully wet and you really want to scrub it with some elbow grease," he said.
And before you scrub or wipe off the product you need to let the product disinfect the surface.
"To disinfect the surface you need to let the product sit and be wet on the surface for 10 minutes, and that will kill 99.99% of the germs," said Zook.
Don't forget to disinfect your front doorknob and any remote controls or gaming system controls, too.
The American Chemistry Council's Center for Biocide Chemistries created a list of products that have been pre-approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use against emerging enveloped viral pathogens. Check out that list here.
