Even though many of us have a great grasp of these practices, we're still going to compile them all. It never hurts, especially when it could affect your health, safety, and happiness.
How to Keep Things Clean and Prevent the Spread of the Flu
1. Disinfect your phone.
We wash our hands. And are always told to wash our hands. But do we ever wash our phones? I definitely don't. We go into the bathroom, scroll endlessly on our phone, wash our hands, and leave the bathroom...still using our phones. We put our phones up to our faces and even let our children stick them in their mouths. It almost makes washing our hands pointless when we are just going to touch our phones right after that are overflowing with tons of harmful germs and bacteria.
Our solution? UV-C light. That's right. With the PhoneSoap UV sanitizer, powerful UV rays disinfect your phone, killing 99.99% of those germs in just 10 minutes. It uses no chemicals and no heat and won't cause any damage to your phone or any device you put in. Pair that with washing your hands and you're immediately lessening the chance that you could get sick from your phone.
2. Disinfect surfaces we touch frequently.
Identify high-touch surfaces in your home and make sure to disinfect those using wipes. Just cleaning them off isn't enough. A soapy rag will clean away dirt but it won't do the job for the millions of microscopic bacteria waiting to get you sick. Once you've identified those surfaces, make a list and hang it somewhere you can see it as a frequent reminder to disinfect.
Examples of high-touch surfaces: doorknobs, counters, faucets, toilets, light switches, tables, etc.
And for things like tablets, TV remotes, and game controllers you don't need to waste disinfecting wipes. Use our larger UV sanitizing unit, the HomeSoap to fit those larger items and even children's toys or baby bottles.
3. Wash your clothes.
This one you should already be doing fairly regularly. Germs definitely spread onto your clothes and can then spread to others or get you sick. This can come from being sick yourself and your own clothing become germ-infested, or it can come from doing the laundry of someone who is sick, or just being near someone who is sick.
Typically, clothing like underwear will be more germ-ridden than outer clothing. But that doesn't mean you should pick and choose what you wash. There are some high-risk clothing items that you should absolutely wash quickly:
- Towels
- Anything that comes into contact with vomit
- Sports clothing
- Any clothing that has touched open or infected wounds
- Clothing worn during food prep
- Clothing worn while tending to a sick person
If there is feces or vomit on clothing, make sure to remove it before you wash. Most of these clothing items should be washed separate of your usual wash. It's good practice to wash at 60 degrees C (140 degrees F) to ensure bacteria and viruses are killed (this temperature is also good for removing stains). For extra protection, wear gloves when handling this laundry and washing your hands after.
4. Wear a mask.
Asian countries like Japan have been wearing face masks for centuries. This is partly due to culture norms but also for medical purposes. If you were sick, you'd wear a mask. It's not a bad practice, we're not saying you'll need to forever wear a mask all the time, but when you are sick and infectious and planning on going out or being around people, wear a mask and stop the spread.
5. Limit the number of guests that come to your home.
With social media, we love sharing every detail of our lives. And being sick is definitely something you should share. Warn others when you or someone in your home is sick and infectious. And then don't let them all come over. Parties and get togethers can wait until after you the possibility of getting others sick is gone. It's not always fun, but there's no need to make others sick.
As we said above, these practices are not just applicable to the flu. They are great for slowing the spread of any contagious virus. And honestly, some are just good practices to follow in every day life. Do you have any other good tips for keeping your things clean and safe when sick? Share them below!