It is without question that most people know that regular cleaning is an excellent means to keep your rental home safe during flu season. On the other hand, cleaning just the prominent dirt may not be sufficient enough. Doorknobs, light switches, computer keyboards, smartphones, tablets, television remotes, and game controllers are easy to miss when cleaning the house. If you are not sanitizing them regularly, they may contain more harmful bacteria than your toilet.
How dirty are standard handheld devices?
It is seriously proposed that you regularly clean your smartphone, tablet, keyboard, mouse, television remote, and gaming controller. As these electronic devices are touched so often each day, particularly phones, controllers, and remotes, they can have ten times the amount of bacteria found on other surfaces in your home!
Just think about it: In the event you touch something and then touch your phone or computer keyboard, you’ve transferred bacteria from one surface to the other.
The more frequently you touch a particular surface, the more bacteria will collect there, rapidly becoming a serious health hazard. Over flu season, it’s easy to pick up germs and, without knowing, pass them along to others by sharing devices, controllers – even the TV remote. This is what makes cleaning your dirty devices so relevant. If you aren’t cleaning your devices every day or after every use, the chances are high that they might get you or your family sick.
Surfaces you touch every day
Have you ever tried to take actual note of everything you touch around the house daily? You may be actually surprised! High-touch surfaces, notably, get a lot of use but, on the other hand, not make it onto your general cleaning lists. Such as for example, doorknobs, cabinet handles, window blind controls, and light switches are all touched daily, and sometimes, plenty of times daily.
If you haven’t wiped these surfaces down with a germ-killing solution, they are most likely harboring high levels of harmful bacteria. Studies have found these surfaces certainly contain far more bacteria per square inch than your toilet.
Sanitizing high-touch surfaces in your home is especially crucial on the day of flu season. Except these surfaces cannot simply be sprayed with liquid cleaners or disinfectants. Spraying anything on your tech devices will greatly harm them. Instead, you can take advantage of wipes designed to clean electronic devices. These wipes usually contain alcohol, which kills harmful bacteria.
For other high-touch surfaces around the house, use a microfiber cloth and spray a disinfectant solution on the cloth, not directly on the light switch or doorknob. A commercial cleaning solution that specifically conveys it will kill bacteria will work for your home’s plastic or other durable surfaces. Just don’t use harsh chemicals on painted surfaces, wood, or natural stone, as the chemicals will damage these areas.
Coupled with high-touch surfaces, the CDC recommends washing your hands frequently and cleaning all surfaces in your home with a disinfectant suitable for the type of surface you’re cleaning. Just be mindful to have proper ventilation and comply with the label directions, no matter what cleaning agent you single out. By taking these extra preventive measures, you can keep your home as germ-free as possible during flu season and for the entire year.
Are you in the market for a new rental home? Contact Real Property Management Wake County to properly consult with one of our property managers servicing Garner and nearby or simply view our available listings.
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