As the coronavirus epidemic is on the rise in various countries across the globe, people are quickly searching for ways to disinfect homes to prevent the virus from spreading. You can very well avoid the risk of falling victim to the illness if you follow these prevention tips at home.
Let’s take a closer look at these tips to prevent coronavirus at home.
Tips to Prevent Coronavirus at Home
Prevention is better than cure – this adage holds true with regards to the current situation of coronavirus in Pakistan. The official tally of coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 20, as of March 11, 2020. At a time when the most developed countries are grappling with the outbreak, it is best to take appropriate precautionary measures to protect yourself and your loved ones as much as you can.
- Disinfect most-frequently touched surfaces
- Handle laundry of a sick person with care
- Wash clothes in warm water
- Wear protective gloves when cleaning
- Make a DIY disinfectant spray
- Clean your mobile phones
Let’s discuss these, one by one.
Disinfect most-frequently touched surfaces
One of the best tips to prevent coronavirus at home is to constantly disinfect those surfaces which you touch more often than not. For instance, you can’t open a door without touching the doorknob.
Here is a list of most-frequently touched surfaces and some tips to make them germ-free.
- Mobile phones perhaps carry 10 times more germs than a toilet seat, a study by the University of Arizona found in 2012. One of the major reasons why cell phones carry more germs than toilet seats is that toilets are cleaned more regularly and with hard chemicals and disinfectants, while your personal cell phone is largely overlooked
- Door knobs are some of the most-touched surfaces after mobile phones. At home, while at work or when walking into your bedroom, you can’t avoid touching doorknobs
- Keychains, laptops, currency notes, light switches are some of the most frequently-touched surfaces. Now, let’s take a look at some of the most effective ways to kill germs at home
Alcohol and household bleach are some of the best ways to disinfect your home. Make a bleach spray, which we will discuss in our section ‘how to make a disinfectant spray on your own’ in this blog and spray surfaces with it to properly sanitize frequently-touched objects.
Remember the coronavirus can survive for 9-12 hours. So, make sure to use an alcohol-based spray or make your own bleach spray to kill coronavirus germs at home.
Handle laundry of a sick person with care
If you have a sick patient at home or anyone carrying any symptoms of flu, make sure to wash their clothes separately and on the highest possible temperature setting, which will kill the germs. If you are handwashing, wear protective gloves to prevent coronavirus spread.
It is also important to take care of senior citizens and smaller children at home as they are more prone to catching the virus. It is a safe practice to wash their clothes separately because if you go out to work daily, you might bring coronavirus germs with you.
Wash clothes in warm water
For prevention against coronavirus, wash all your clothes in a warmer setting. Also, wash the laundry bag that carries dirty clothes because they might carry germs and viruses.
More importantly, wear gloves when handling any dirty clothes, especially of family members who go out of the house and can possibly carry germs with them when they enter the house.
Wear protective gloves when cleaning
According to the recommendations by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), wear protective gloves when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and later wash hands thoroughly for 20 seconds with an alcohol-based hand wash.
Make sure to first clean surfaces before disinfecting them. This holds true for toilets, sinks, kitchen countertop and bedside tables, etc. If you are using disposable gloves, then quickly discard those in the dustbin.
Make a DIY disinfectant spray
One of the easiest yet most effective ways to kill germs at home is to use a DIY disinfectant spray that you can use to sanitize surfaces and objects. The CDC recommends making your own household bleach solution which is expected to quickly kill coronavirus germs and also clean surfaces instantly from germs and other viruses.
Here is how you can make it: Take five tablespoons, or 1/3rd cup, of bleach per gallon of water or use 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water. Fill this mixture in a spray bottle and clean surfaces using this disinfectant spray to ward off coronavirus.
A word of caution: Make sure the bleach you’re using is unexpired. And please remember to wear protective gloves while making this spray.
Clean your mobile phones
One of the best ways to protect your home from coronavirus is to clean your mobile phones more frequently. As mentioned earlier, mobile phones carry 10 times more germs than a toilet seat, according to a study conducted by the University of Arizona.
With cases of infection increasing all over the globe, one of the best safety tips to protect yourself from coronavirus is to first clean your mobile phone and then using a disinfectant spray, like the one mentioned above, wipe your phone with a clean tissue paper.
It is quite a simple tip to follow, yet cleaning and disinfecting your mobile phone regularly can reduce your chances of contracting the disease.
Stay safe everyone! It is important to follow these tips to prevent coronavirus at home and protect your loved ones from harm. Check out our comprehensive guide on how to stay safe from coronavirus in Pakistan.
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