The world is going through a surreal time, one that we would never have expected or could have prepared for. In order to protect ourselves and prevent the spread of the virus, it is essential for us to keep ourselves and our homes clean.
To know you have a clean home will help you to have peace of mind, and make you feel slightly more relaxed in this time of unknown.
Keeping Ourselves Hygienic
It is important to keep our homes clean, but we are the most important focus as we will bring the germs to our homes. We can protect ourselves and those close to us by regularly washing our hands at least every two hours with soap and water for 20 seconds each time.
We should also cover our mouth and nose if we cough or sneeze and dispose of a tissue if used. Be aware of the specific times when you should remember to wash your hands, which will be when you are going to come in contact with your eyes, mouth and nose – this is how the virus can be contracted.
For example, before you eat, after being in contact with used tissues, before applying make-up and before using eye drops or contact lenses.
Going to The Grocery Store
When you go to the grocery store ensure you wear gloves and a protective surgical face mask. When you return home ensure you either throw away the gloves if they are disposable or put them outside to be washed.
You do not want to counteract the germs you have prevented putting on your hands and spread the germs on your gloves onto surfaces around your house. I would also recommend putting the clothes you wear to the grocery store in the wash immediately, the virus can remain on our clothes for up to 2 days.
To be extra vigilant, which is particularly important if you live with high-risk family members, I advise taking a shower after being out to ensure no germs remain on you. Have a hot shower, which will kill all the germs and use a Susi’s Scrubber body scrubber to ensure you have a deep clean – the scrubber is perfect as it can easily be cleaned after use and will not hold onto bacteria or foul odors. Click here to shop the body scrubber.
When it comes to your grocery products before putting them away wipe them gently with a damp scrubber, germs can stay on plastic for up to 3 days, and on paper for 24 hours. I would recommend using the scrubber alongside an anti-bacterial soap for the best clean. If you have reusable containers this is even better as you can dispose of the original packaging immediately, by decanting your products into these containers.
When you prepare food, it is important to remember to always wash your fruit and veg, particularly if it has not come in packaging. To ensure they get a thorough clean use a Susi’s Scrubber kitchen scrubber, to use it simply place the produce in the scrubber and run under water to rinse and lightly scrub.
As this scrubber is the same type you would use to clean surfaces, I would recommend purchasing the scrubber in different colors, this will allow you to easily identify which one belongs to which purpose. Click here to shop the kitchen scrubber.
Clean High Traffic Areas
These are the places we touch every day; some we may not think to clean regularly. These places include our mobile phones, remote controls, door handles, light switches, appliance handles and computer keyboards.
You should clean these areas with an anti-bacterial cleaning detergent to ensure they are sterilized. To do this you could use a disposable anti-bacterial wipe, or a paper towel alongside an anti-bacterial spray. Studies have shown that the virus can stay on plastic, metal, and glass services for days, but can be removed within a minute after being cleaned and disinfected.
Keep Surfaces Clean
These surfaces include the ones in the bathroom and kitchen, where we prepare food and wash. These areas must be kept sterile as they are in constant use and where we make contact with our face. To clean the kitchen surfaces, use a Susi’s Scrubbers kitchen scrubber, which can be used alongside soapy water or an anti-bacterial detergent.
Covid-19 is an RNA virus, which means lipids and proteins are part of its structure. Therefore, detergents we extensively use such as washing up liquid or soap and water, work well to dissolve the lipids, which makes the virus inactive and will prevent it from spreading. Anti-bacterial products work in the same way, by working to dissolve lipids within the virus, but the alcohol content of the product must be at least 70% alcohol to work effectively – make sure you look for this on product labels.
To use the scrubber, place a small amount of soap or anti-bacterial detergent onto the scrubber, and scrub away over the entire surface – scrubbing hard enough to remove grime, but gentle enough that you do not damage the surfaces.
For the bathroom, you can use the bathroom scrubber from Susi’s Scrubbers, the scrubber has a smart design with one side being only slightly scratchy for gentle services, and the other side being fully scratchy to tackle tough grime. You can use this for your bathroom surfaces and your shower or bathtub, alongside your chosen cleaning detergent. Click here to shop the bathroom scrubber.
Washing Laundry
I would recommend changing your tea towels, bathroom towels and a change of clothes every couple of days. To effectively kill germs, you will need to use a detergent which contains active oxygen bleach. It is important to be aware that liquid detergents do not contain bleach, choose a biological powder as these tend to have higher bleaching agents than a non-biological one. To achieve a deep clean, wash these items at 60 degrees.
Cleaning Your Scrubbers
It is also vital to clean the products you are cleaning with to prevent the spread of germs. To clean Susi’s Scrubbers wash them in warm soapy water, scrubbing them against their material and leaving them to soak in the water for around 10 minutes. After this time, the scrubbers can be rinsed in water and hung up to dry, you will find they quickly dry because of their fast-acting material and will not hold onto germs and odors.
I hope this post helps you to keep your home and yourself clean. Stay safe and keep on cleaning!
