words Alexa Wang
Germs are the enemy, especially in recent times when the pandemic is making everyone around you drop like flies with the virus. We need to do all we can to prevent the spread of germs in our home, and you will especially know this if you have kids who go into kindergarten and school and bring back a petri dish of germs every day.
So you know the basics of keeping the house clean, but what are actually the most common ways germs get into your home that you’re not aware of – and more importantly, how do you stop it?
Wash your hands
The handwashing rule needs to be rigorously enforced in every household. There comes a time when it becomes so routine, you stop thinking about it and then it grows over into just not doing it at all.
The moment you get into the house and you start touching things – starting with the door handle – you are spreading germs all around. So focus on just heading straight towards the bathroom to wash your hands as soon as you come in – and be careful not to touch anything else in the house before you do that!
Mind your step
The main way germs come into the house is – they walk in. Literally, attached to the soles of your feet, they can spread around the house without you knowing, because we still don’t have the option of floating off the ground. This is a constant battle even for the most rigorous of floor cleaners, because as experts state, recontamination begins quickly after the area has been disinfected.
What does this mean? Basically, it means that the only way to prevent spreading germs from the soles of your feet is to either take them off before you enter, or to disinfect the soles. This can be done by placing a sponge soaked in disinfectant in front of the door to walk through every time you come into the house, or by using specialized products and machines that kill the germs on the soles of the feet.
Careful where you place your bags
We don’t pay enough attention to the outside of our bags. We put them down on floors or just surfaces that are potentially contaminated, and then we carry them on us transferring everything onto our clothes, before putting them in our home wherever we keep them, and never thinking to disinfect them.
A good way to deal with this is by firstly being mindful of where your bag sits and additionally carrying a small spray bottle with alcohol or another disinfectant that you can spray on the bag as you go and especially every time you pick it up to ensure there’s no lingering bacteria on it.
Electronics
It might not surprise you to learn that our handheld electronics have more bacteria on them than your average toilet seat. They are in our hands constantly and everything we touch gets transferred to them and then further throughout our home. So, firstly, clean your device often – alcohol wipes are a good option, but don’t stop with the screen – clean the back of the device and around all of the buttons.
If you have a mask that makes it hard to clean, or if the mask is porous – meaning it has small holes that the wipe might not be able to reach, swap it out for something smooth that you can easily clean up.
Wash your washing machine
Now this might sound very odd, but your washing machine might be doing more harm than good. In a single load of undergarments, there might be enough fecal matter to contaminate the whole load, and also transfer onto the next one, which is the last thing you want. In between cycles, run a quick rinse with a little bit of bleach that will kill any lingering germs and bacteria in the machine and leave you with a clean place to wash your clothes.
Once you take them out, let them dry in the sun, if possible, because the rays of sun actually eliminate a lot of bacteria. If there just isn’t a way to dry them in the sun, make sure you wash your hands after transferring them from the washer to the dryer to prevent any further spread of germs that might be on the clothing. Also, make sure to only use the best washing machine cleaning tablets to ensure that your machine is as clean as possible. Luckily, there are quite a few products available that make it easy to keep your washing machine clean and germ-free.
There’s no need to be paranoid that your home is a bed for germs to spread, just use some common sense and follow these tips, and you will have a home that is healthy and clean for everyone living in it.
