How To Disinfect Your Home To Avoid Illness
When cleaning our home, we often focus on the visual problem areas rather than considering how our cleaning process is helping (or not helping) to prevent illness. By taking a few extra, and simple steps, during your house cleaning procedures, you’ll make great head-way in reducing germs that cause illness.
Some of the items in this list are things you never even considered. Taking just a few of them can increase the healthiness of your home immediately.
How To Make Your Home Healthier
- Make sure your cleaning supplies disinfect. This is the most important step in the process because without disinfectants in your cleaning chemicals, you’re only cleaning for visual rather than health effects. Every one of us benefits from disinfectant cleaning supplies because every one of us should strive to remain healthy. This is even more true if you have small children, older adults, or someone with immune system disorders living in your home.
- Don’t share! You don’t hear that often, do you? We’re taught to share from a young age but when it comes to sharing drinks, food, and eating utensils, you need to be stingy. Even if the person you’re sharing with doesn’t appear sick, they may still be sick since most illnesses take a couple of days (or more) to materialize to the point that they are recognizable.
- Wash Your Hands. Doctors have found that the type of soap doesn’t really matter; it’s the amount of time you spend scrubbing under hot water (at least 20-25 seconds) that’s important. Not only should you be sure to wash your hands often but also teaching children proper hand washing techniques at any early age will keep them more healthy too.
- Clean Your Desk. You may be amazed to learn that some people’s desks contain more germs than bathrooms. Shocking, isn’t it? Especially considering you spend hours at your desk every day. Even more frightening if you eat or snack at your desk. Cleaning and keeping your desk clean will keep you and your co-workers healthier and more productive.
- Clean your bathroom and kitchen more often. These are the places that most often have and spread germs. Keeping your hands clean helps but don’t forget commonly over-looked areas like light switches, door and drawer knobs, refrigerator, microwave, and oven handles and drawer and cabinet facings as these places are touched countless times a day and are a hotbed for germs.
- Continue to exercise, sleep on a regular schedule, and eat well. If you exercise and get plenty of rest, you’re giving your immune system a good boost. While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need between seven and a half to nine hours of sleep per night to function at their best. Children and teens need even more.
- Stop bad face touching habits. Biting your nails, rubbing your face, or rubbing your nose or eyes are all bad habits that spread germs. Plus, these things can cause your face to break out. By eliminating (or at least considerably reducing) these things, you’ll get double the benefits.
- Air Out The House Occasionally. Fresh air is good for you and it’s good for your house! Keep in mind though, that while opening the windows allows fresh air to flow through your home, it’s best to open those windows prior to your cleaning since you may experience more dust after the windows have been opened. This is especially true if you live in a more rural area or an area with nearby construction.
Don’t Forget About Cleaning These Things:
- Remote controls
- Phone
- Doorknobs and locks
- Handles and knobs of dressers, kitchen cabinets, etc.
- Your keyboard and mouse
- Children’s toys
- Light switches
- Faucets and handles
- Inside the dishwasher
- Your bathroom floor
- Your sponges – dirty sponges can spread germs at turbo speeds!