4 Ways to Reduce Risk of Spreading Infectious Bacteria and Viruses in your Home
The importance of properly cleaning and disinfecting your home has never been more apparent. While many people previously overlooked this, it’s become clear that a clean, disinfected home is the only way to reduce the spread of infectious bacteria and viruses.
Yet it’s easy to get complacent at home. Even a clean and well-kept property can still harbor dangerous bacteria and viruses, which can increase the risk of various infections and diseases being spread from person to person, so it’s vital that you don’t rest on your laurels and instead be proactive to help keep you and your family safe.
Here are 4 ways to reduce the risk of spreading infectious bacteria and viruses throughout your home:
1. Properly Clean Your Hands
While it’s constantly being repeated you cannot overlook how vital it is to regularly wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap. Most bacteria are spread via our hands, so by washing regularly it will reduce the risk of spreading the bacteria and any viruses around your home.
You need to wash properly too, taking 20 seconds to thoroughly scrub both hands including fingers, palms, and under nails. Hand sanitizer also works, although the limited availability means not everyone has access.
Properly washing your hands is unquestionably the most effective method to avoid spreading bacteria and viruses, so make sure you do it regularly throughout the day.
2. Clean and Disinfect All Doorknobs and Handles
When we think of cleaning and disinfecting surfaces around the house, most people don’t think about doorknobs, which is a big oversight as these are some of the most touched surfaces in any household.
Think about how often you and everyone in your house touches a doorknob each day! Countless bacteria accumulate on your doorknobs, so never overlook the importance of regularly cleaning and disinfecting to help prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses.
Start by removing any dust, dirt, and debris with warm soapy water, then apply a suitable disinfectant.
Don’t forget your locks and handles either! Our hands regularly touch these surfaces too, so make sure to regularly clean and disinfect.
It’s normally recommended that you do this twice a week but you might want to increase this, especially if you live in a busy household.
3. Focus on All High Traffic Surfaces
There are countless surfaces around your home, so which ones do you focus on most to prevent spreading bacteria? Consider those that see the most traffic, such as worktops, counters, tables, light switches, faucets, and toilet handles.
Go room to room, cleaning and disinfecting as you go. We all have different habits so focus on what is a priority in your household! Remember, you want to clean away dirt and dust, then use a suitable disinfectant to kill bacteria.
4. Don’t Forget About Electronics
While you might be focusing on doorknobs, counters, and other surface areas, don’t forget about your electronic devices.
Smartphones, tablets, keyboards, and game controllers are sometimes forgotten when disinfecting surfaces, which is unfortunate because we often touch these more than anything else! Phone surfaces are a big one, attracting bacteria like you wouldn’t imagine, and using the wrong disinfectant may damage the device.
Disinfectant wipes are your best bet when it comes to this. You need to be thorough with the phone screen, getting into all the nooks and crannies, while also taking off the cover and cleaning this too. Use wipes for keyboards too, which harbour a lot of bacteria and are probably in need of a good clean!
Dib’s Safe & Lock Service in San Bernardino is a locally-owned, family run business with over 90 years experience proudly offering lock, safe, and key, services to residential and business customers in San Bernardino County, Riverside, and the surrounding areas in Inland Empire. If you have questions changing door locks, or lock and key service of any type, give Dib’s a call today at (909) 885-0452.
