Cleaning and Disinfecting your Home

With the spread of COVID-19 and many of us staying home, it is important to be cleaning and disinfecting your space. Especially if you are someone who doesn’t have the option to stay home or work from home, you want to be sure that you are not bringing any germs and bacteria into your home space. 

Of course, we all have a general idea of how to clean our homes, but it helps to get a reminder of some spaces you may not think of or you may be missing. There isn’t much you can do that is over-the-top when trying to prevent the spread of illness. It has been shown that COVID-19 is capable of living up to 24 hours on surfaces like cardboard, and up to two to three days on surfaces like plastic and stainless steel. In addition, it always helps to be reminded of how to clean certain surfaces in your home and that includes whatever natural stone pieces you may have.

Cleaning vs. disinfecting

While they may sound similar, or like the same thing, cleaning and disinfecting are actually two completely different things. Cleaning focuses on removing contaminants from a surface. This could be dust, dirt, hair or other things that naturally accumulate on a surface. Disinfecting refers to the process of killing pathogens. 

While both are important to implement in your home, at this current time, disinfecting will be your safest bet. The CDC recommends cleaning AND disinfecting your high-touch surfaces at least once a day to be safe. If there is someone in your home who is sick, you should probably be doing it a few times more than that. 

High-touch surfaces 

So, what exactly are your high-touch surfaces? Here is a list of places you should focus on:

• Doorknobs - this means your outdoor knobs as well as indoor knobs leading to each room
• Table surfaces - kitchen and dining tables are important, but don’t forget livingroom and bedroom side tables where pathogens could also be present
• Hard dining chairs - lots of hands touch these and you want to be sure to hit the back, arms and seating area
• Kitchen and bathroom counters - all spaces where food will be present is important to keep fully disinfected 
• Faucets - make sure to get the knobs as that is where most pathogens lie
• Toilets - when cleaning your toilets don’t forget about the handles
• Light switches - This might possibly be one of the most touched areas in your home, be sure to keep these super disinfected 
• TV remote controls - while we are all stuck inside, many people are watching tv and movies, so be sure to keep that remote control free of pathogens

What about soft surfaces?

For surfaces like couches, soft dining chairs, beds and other soft surfaces, there are some ways you can keep those clean and disinfected as well. First, you can clean the area with soap and water. Of course, using cleaners appropriate for those surfaces is helpful, too! If you are able to, you should launder the items on the warmest setting and be sure to dry them completely before continuing use. Lastly, you can disinfect with an EPA-registered household disinfectant. 

What to use

You may be wondering what type of cleaners and disinfectants you should be using in your home to be sure to stop the spread of pathogens in your home. Your safest bet is using a household disinfectant that has been EPA-registered. If you are unsure if what you are using will fight against COVID-19, check out this list of registered disinfectants to be sure!

Natural stone surfaces

When cleaning and disinfecting your homes, be sure to continue that practice onto whatever natural stone piece you have. After disinfecting with the harsh disinfectants, use a natural cleaner, soap or dishwashing detergent and water to remove those harsh chemicals from sitting on the stone. This should keep your surfaces disinfected, while also being sure that you’re caring for them properly.