Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has proven to have devastating effects on life like none other in the recent times. So home cleaning and disinfecting become critical during these times. However, due to the panic, many homeowners are continuing to make home disinfection mistakes during coronavirus. The popular Dallas maid service Modern Maids will share some of the most common mistakes and ways to avoid them in order to stay healthy.
Common Home Cleaning Mistakes
Wrong disinfecting products
Are you using the right disinfectants to sanitize your home? When it comes to disinfecting your home, you want to make sure that the products you use are efficient at removing and killing germs. Unless you have the right product in your hands, you are only removing germs from surfaces and not killing them. A diluted bleach solution can effectively kill viruses. However, do not forget to wear gloves!
Not giving time to disinfectants to work
True, disinfectants are powerful at eliminating germs, but they need time to be effective. Spraying a disinfectant and wiping it off without waiting for it to work is one of the most common disinfecting mistakes during coronavirus. This takes you nowhere, and you might catch surface bacteria alone. You should always read the disinfectant label to see how long it needs to activate. Ideally you should wait for at least 10 minutes for disinfectants to start working.
Not taking caution with bleach
One of the most common home cleaning mistakes that homeowners tend to make is not taking any precaution with bleach. Although it is a potent way to kill germs, a bleaching solution can be hazardous. You ought to be extra careful with its use. If you have any respiratory issues, it is a deadly combination to use a bleaching solution.
If you do not have any such issue, use gloves to work with bleach. It is critical to use it in a ventilated area. Additionally, you should never mix bleach with ammonia, vinegar, baking soda, or anything except water. It might prove to be a useless yet dangerous combination.
Overly dependent on Antimicrobial solutions
You might be surprised to learn that most viruses, germs, and microbes can develop resistance to antimicrobial solutions. But if you use a disinfecting solution with alcohol and bleach, then you ought not to worry about antimicrobial resistance. The reason is that these are strong cleaning agents that do not leave any residue. When there is no lasting residue, microbes cannot develop resistance to them.
Using the wrong antimicrobial solutions is one of the most common home disinfecting mistakes that you should avoid.
Focusing on disinfecting entire home
Instead of disinfecting the entire property, instead, focus on high contact areas, where there is a high risk of infection. That means you should focus on disinfecting common touch points every day to reduce the risk. This includes door knobs, light switches, fridge handle, and TV remotes. However, that does not mean limiting yourself to disinfecting the reservoirs of infection alone. You should disinfect the floors at least once a week.
Considering Sanitizing and disinfecting are the same
Most people confuse sanitizing with disinfecting. While sanitizing works on bacteria on a surface, it does not eliminate them. Disinfecting, on the other hand, kills infections, such as viruses, germs, and bacteria on a surface.
Using infective disinfectants
It is a home disinfecting mistake to mix the fresh stock of disinfectant with the old batch. It could make your disinfectant ineffective because every cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting solution has a life. Another common mistake is to not knowing the shelf life of the diluted disinfectant. In order to work properly, the solution must be used within its shelf life. Often, some disinfectants are effective for 24 hours while others may be good for 90 days.
Using incorrect measurements of disinfecting solutions could make them ineffective. You should always follow labels when it comes to eyeballing quantities and measurements.
Using cold water for cleaning
When you use disinfectant wipes, they may not be as effective unless used with hot water. Cold water may not be as effective in disinfecting and cleaning as hot water.
Not careful with cleaning hands
Hand washing is integral to sanitizing and disinfecting. However, one of the biggest home cleaning mistakes most homeowners make is to wash hands only after the procedure.
But it is a wrong approach. The right way forward is to wash your hands before disinfecting. Do not forget to wear latex gloves while cleaning. Be extra careful with different disinfectants. Finish off the disinfecting project by washing your hands with a soap and sanitizer.
Using sponge for cleaning
Do not make the mistake of cleaning with a sponge. Rather, it is a good idea to use germ-grabbing microfiber cloths for the purpose of cleaning. You may even use disposable paper towels if you want to avoid the task of washing microfiber cloths daily.
With little caution, these common home cleaning mistakes are easy to avoid.