The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has resulted in questions on how to clean your home to prevent the spread of the virus especially if you are in an already affected area or already practicing isolation.
First of all you need to know that frequently touched surfaces such as tables,door handles,kitchen counters,light switches,desks, keyboards, toilet,refrigerators and kitchen sinks should be cleaned and disinfected daily, sometimes even more depending on how many people live in the house.
According to recent research that the virus can survive up to 72 hours on plastics and stainless steel, this makes door handles and taps handles very high risk places that should be cleaned extra carefully.
Although the question is which chemical you use and how you use it make all the differences because obviously not all of the cleaning tips we learned from family members are helpful for sanitizing in a pandemic,If you are putting in the effort to clean and disinfect your frequently touched surfaces, you need to make sure you are using effective chemicals.”
People use vinegar,alcohol,bleach or hydrogen peroxide to sanitize although vinegar is not as effective as hydrogen peroxide,bleach or alcohol on surfaces but more effective with food stuff.Here is the breakdown of how best to use the solutions for maximum effect.
If you choose to use alcohol try not to dilute too much,you can only dilute to approximately 70% concentration and if sprayed on a surface should be left for 30 seconds before wiping.
Hydrogen peroxide can be diluted to 0.5 % and should be allowed 1 minute on a surface before wiping. It is advised to keep the diluted solutions in a sealed container so as to make it more effective.
And for those who are using bleach,you can dilute according to the prescription on the container and allow it to sit at least 10 minutes before wiping the surface.
You can also decide to just soap and water although it might not be as effective as the others but more effective on your hands.
It is also important not to try mixing the products as it contains strong chemicals that can prove to be poisonous.
Try to make sanitizing a part of your everyday routine,wipe the surfaces that are frequently touched so that you can avoid any contamination,for those who have little ones try and also wash their hands after playing outside.
Don’t forget your phones and tablets as they are among the most touched surfaces,as you wash your hands and also sanitize your phone and tablets especially if you are mummy or daddy,as our children are a generation addicted to screens,they might play a game or watch a cartoon on your phone.
According to dailytargum magazine “ Bacteria and Viruses are not able to stay long and survive on our smartphones because they need food to survive and multiply and that is why they need a suitable host (Humans),the amount of time this organisms last on a phone depends on the starting concentration and conditions,they tend to survive best at low temperature and low humidity”
Nonetheless we cannot be too careful although it is suggested you should follow the phone company’s guidelines on how to clean your devices please don’t use any solution it might affect the performance of the phone instead you can google to see best way to do it for example Apple recommends iPhones should be cleaned with Clorox wipes or 70 percent ethanol. Chemicals like chlorine and ammonia should not be used on phones.
As we wash our hands we should eat your food like vegetables with vinegar as the food has been handled by many hands before getting to you.Dilute vinegar with water to a 3;1 ratio to wash fruits and vegetables.For smooth skinned fruits and vegetable spraying it with the solutions will surface as soaking for a few minutes will be more effective for rough skinned fruits and vegetable.
Please as you wash and sanitize don’t forget to practice social distancing in instances where you come in contact with people.
Our prayers go to the people who have been affected and their families.
For any suspected case get in touch with your local authorities.
For more updates on the Covid19 go to https://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/
By Bara’atu Nasidi