How to Disinfect Your Home After Someone Got Sick

It seems like the whole family plays sick roulette after one person catches a bug. When a family member is sick, he or she can leave behind cold and flu germs that remain on surfaces for days at a time. With these germs infecting everything, the cycle of illness can quickly become a problem. To prevent the spread of germs and viruses, here are some tips to properly disinfect your home.

The most important things to disinfect are…

• Your phone: Roughly 80% of phones in homes that have an infected individual have the virus on them.
• The bathroom: It’s common for nearly half of bathroom faucets to have cold and flu viruses on them. Be sure to disinfect the faucets as well as the sink and toilet.
• Knobs and handles: This includes doorknobs, light switches, and kitchen cabinet knobs or handles.
• Tables: Tables throughout your home are frequently touched without being wiped down, so make sure to pay close attention to these areas.
• Linens: Bed linens and stuffed animals should be washed in hot water after an illness.
• The remote: Wipe down the remote with a disinfectant wipe each day when someone’s sick.

Choosing Household Cleaners

Pick up disinfecting wipes or a household disinfectant to sanitize hard surfaces around your home. But don’t use just any wipes: Read the label to make sure the product kills influenza viruses. And look for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration number on the label. The EPA has stringent standards to ensure that the household cleaner kills off both germs and influenza viruses.

If you don’t have the right product handy, you can make a solution of ¼ cup chlorine bleach and a gallon of hot water. Wipe countertops, tabletops, doorknobs, refrigerator door handles, faucets, and other surfaces likely to have been touched by germy hands.

For pillowcases, bedding, towels, and stuffed animals use a hot wash cycle after the illness has subsided. Germs can live through cold and even warm wash cycles.

Some extra precautions the family should follow.

• Especially when someone’s sick, make sure your whole family washes their hands frequently with soap and water, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds.
• Be aware that the flu virus is most often spread by touch. Try not to excessively touch your face. Rubbing your eyes, leaning on your hand, or picking your nose can all transfer the virus.
• Toss your tissues in the trash, not on the bed or nightstand where germs can linger. It’s a good idea to keep a trash can near an ill family member’s bed.
• Wipe down all surfaces in your home with a household disinfectant as often as you can.
• Designate bedding and a towel for the sick person to use while they are still contagious, sharing is not caring.

Check this out!

We’ve compiled six of our most useful health guides into one printable e-book. Here’s what you’ll get:

• Tylenol Dosage Chart (for babies and children)
• Acetaminophen Dosage Chart (for babies and children)
• Allergy Medication Dosage Chart (for babies and children)
• Immunization Schedule
• Cold or Flu: Symptom Checker
• Fever Protocol: When to Call the Doctor

Click the link above to get our 6 Health Charts All Parents Should Have e-book delivered right to your inbox!

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