Obviously, there’s a virus on everyone’s mind at the moment. You’re all concerned with stopping it from spreading and protecting your family. For the most part, you are safe at home. However, whenever you leave your house, you run the risk of bringing the virus back to your family. So, below are a few tips to keep sickness from spreading in your home that hopefully will be of help.
Furthermore, it’s essential to realize that this isn’t the only virus in the history of mankind! Even after things return to something resembling normality, you should still work hard to stay hygienic and prevent sickness from spreading in your home. Thus, there will also be some general tips to apply both now and in the future.
*Photo Source: Canva
Let’s not waste any more time! Here are the steps to follow for a healthier, happier home:
Put hand sanitizer by the front door
According to the CDC, the virus is spread mainly from person-to-person, through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. It is transmitted when/if these droplets land in the mouths or noses of nearby people or they can also be inhaled into the lungs. It can also be passed when a person touches their face with their hands. At this point, they’ve taken the virus from their mouth/nose and placed it on everything else that they touch with their hands.
So, a great way to stop this is by banishing any germs from your hands. You can do this by washing them – there is a specific way to wash hands (and we’ll talk about that soon), and you can do it by using hand sanitizer. Every household should have a bottle of this stuff at the front door. Use it before you go out – to kill any germs on your hands and prevent spreading it to others – and when you come home, to kill any germs you’ve picked up while out. It’s also helpful to have a small bottle of the stuff that you can keep with you while you’re out and use it frequently.
I know what you’re thinking, hand sanitizer isn’t easy to get your hands on right now. Fear not, I’ve got a homemade hand sanitizer tutorial that you can follow. Using it as you enter or exit your home ensures that you always have clean hands when you’re coming and going.
Teach your kids to wash their hands properly
In general, kids don’t wash their hands well at all. They barely do it, and if they do, it’s a brief splash of water – sometimes with soap if you’re lucky. The big problem is that kids pick up germs more than basically anyone else. They touch everything they see, which means they can easily spread viruses or other spreadable diseases throughout your home.
As such, get your children into the habit of washing their hands regularly and correctly. Check out the video I’ve linked that shows you all the essential hand-washing steps. This is the most effective way of cleaning germs off your hands. Obviously, you need to do this as well! One quick tip for kids – they should wash their hands, rubbing them together for 20 seconds which is as long as singing the “Happy Birthday” song 2 times in a row.
Technically, you really can’t wash your hands too much. However, it can be pointless and means you waste soap and turn your hands very dry. Therefore, stick to washing your hands after going to the toilet and after touching dirty things or going outside. You should also always wash your hands before and after handling food to prevent catching and spreading bacteria.
Here is a video I trust and recommend, that is put out by the CDC. Please watch it and share, so that other also know the correct way to wash their hands.
Filter your drinking water
Believe it or not but some viruses can be present in your drinking water. It sounds pretty horrific, but it’s the case. We’re not specifically talking about the coronavirus here, but you should still seek to protect yourself from any viruses or sicknesses. Loads of unwanted things are hidden in many people’s drinking water supplies. So, you have to address this big issue.
Naturally, the best course of action is to filter your drinking water. Get something like a Berkey water filter that siphons out all of the bad stuff and leaves you with clean and healthy water. In fact, Berkey test results have proven that this filtration system will remove nearly 100% of viruses from the water. Other filtration systems are available, but that’s the key thing to look for when you buy: test results. If the system hasn’t been tested and can’t prove that it works, then there’s no point in buying it. It is SO important to have clean, pure and safe drinking water at home to help keep the family from catching all kinds of diseases.
Wipe down surfaces with antibacterial wipes/sprays
The final thing to do is simple; clean your house! You don’t have to go super crazy and clean it from top to bottom every single day. But, wiping down surfaces is a great way to stop things from spreading. Especially when other people in your home are sick and you don’t want them to spread it to everyone else. Make this part of your cleaning routine!
When people are sick in my home, I will wipe down the handles of doors and kitchen cabinets/the fridge after they touch them. It’s a simple habit to get into, and you basically kill the germs that are present on those surfaces. The key is to make sure you have antibacterial wipes or a spray that will actually destroy these germs/bacteria. Otherwise, it’s pointless!
As a bonus tip, during the current outbreak, you might want to be more extreme with your sanitation process. Some people have taken to disinfecting their groceries when they come home. We do this each and every time we go grocery shopping (which isn’t often, as we LOAD UP every time one of us goes to the store). Essentially, you wipe down the packaging of your items with your antibacterial wipes or spray. After all, you have no idea who has touched the products before you or if any germs are lingering on them. Is this a bit extreme in normal life? Perhaps, but you can’t take chances during a pandemic!
Keep up with these tips if you want to stop things from spreading in your home. Obviously, the virus that we are all dealing with is the main thing on your mind right now. But, it’s good to apply these tips throughout your life as well. It can stop you and your family from getting colds, the flu, and various other viral/bacterial diseases. These tips are particularly effective at preventing things from spreading from one of your family members to all of the others!
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