What Cleaning Products Should We Use To Keep Our Home Flu-Free?
First, check to see if your cleaning products up to date and effective. Are there expirations on your bottles? If you have green products, are they effective in killing the flu virus and other germs? If not, are you willing to use chemical cleaners like bleach for these two months, known as flu season?
Secondly, do you have a clean mop and sponges? A sponge can have over 775,000,000 germs per square inch, and mops can be 200 thousand times dirtier than a toilet. If you are not sanitizing them after each use, you are spreading those germs all over your home.
How Do We Keep Our Sponges And Mops Clean?
After thoroughly washing your sponge, zap it on high in the microwave for 2 minutes and throw away every month. Unless you are opting for disposable mop pads, which can get expensive and wasteful, make sure to kill those germs by sanitizing your mop at high temperatures after each use.
How Do We Keep The Air Clean Without Aerosol Chemicals?
Want to keep your air clean? Use a humidifier. The flu virus doesn’t travel well, nor can it multiply, in a humid environment. Your skin, eyes, and lungs will thank you during the dry winter months, too.
Where Else Do Germs Hide?
One unlikely source of germs that not many people think to look at when they disinfect their homes is their Electronic Gadgets. Think of what all you touch in your home! Think of the remotes and the telephones, cell phones, microwave touch screens, and keyboards! If you eat, sneeze, touch your face, at your computer or television; you are spreading germs. The average keyboard and mouse has about 80,000 germs per square inch.
How Do We Keep Our Gadgets Germ Free?
One unlikely source of germs that not many people think to look at when they disinfect their homes is their Electronic Gadgets. Think of what all you touch in your home! Think of the remotes and the telephones, cell phones, microwave touch screens, and keyboards! If you eat, sneeze, touch your face, at your computer or television; you are spreading germs. The average keyboard and mouse has about 80,000 germs per square inch.
What About Germs We Bring In From Outside?
What would you say if I told you that Just one soiled garment could spread the flu virus over all of your garments, if you don’t wash them properly? You could actually put one germy garment in with a load, and pull out an entirely contaminated load. If you have suspect you’ve been around someone with the flu, wash your garments in hot water. The flu virus will die at temperature of at least 150 degrees and 45 minutes in the dryer. Unfortunately, not all garments can be washed at that temperature. Hopefully you weren’t in a cashmere sweater, or silk shirt.
What About What Germs Guests Bring Into Your Home?
Be sure to have disposable hand towels in your bathrooms for guests. The person who dried off their hands before you may not have as good of hygiene habits as you do. You don’t want to wipe your hands off on a community towel that will transfer germs to you.
Want some Well Kept Wipes of your own? Find them at StayWellKept.com, and find a local retailer near you here.
Disposable hand towels are easy but at your local Bed, Bath & Beyond, and find them at BedBathandBeyond.com.
For more with consumer reporter Jill Simonian, please visit thefabmom.com and follow her on Twitter @jillsimonian.
