Experts have urged people to stay home and practice social distancing. So what better way to occupy your time at home than to clean and disinfect your home.
These simple changes can be incorporated into your existing routine in the hopes of eliminating germs from lingering in your home.
It almost stands as a rule of thumb when it comes to cleaning. From the big picture, if it’s your home, you start with the upstairs area before moving your way down. From a smaller scale, start by cleaning the higher areas in a room so that when the dust and dirt shifts around, it will settle on a lower surface. For instance, if you’re in the living room, start with the fan blades, lampshades and shelves before sweeping and mopping. Once the dust from the higher places has settled down, it would be easier to collectively clean up all the loose dust on the floor.

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Speaking of mopping, always move outwards from the corner of a room. This even applies to odd corners on your staircase. This way, you wouldn’t trap dirt at the corners of these areas and make it harder to clean. It also prevents you from having to walk through the wet areas and possibly slipping.
The difference between cleaning and disinfecting is that cleaning does not kill germs but only removes it from surfaces. Disinfecting, on the other hand, it refers to the use of chemicals to kill germs. It doesn’t necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs after cleaning, it can lower the risk of spreading infection.
There’s no point in spending hours sanitising and brushing down your home if it’s with products that won’t actually get rid of bacteria. The CDC has a list of chemicals that will help with disinfecting and they are chlorine, iodine-based antiseptics and hydrogen peroxide amongst others.

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Establish a routine of frequently cleaning touched surfaces such as light switches, tables, doorknobs and faucets with household cleaners that are appropriate for surfaces. Adhere to the label instructions as they provide you with a safe and effective way of using said products.
So here’s the thing, if you’re going to use rags, make sure you start with the cleaner parts before moving on to the dirtier areas. Another thing to remember is to frequently switch out rags with new ones; especially the ones from the kitchen and bathroom.

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And when it comes to food sanitation, remember to always wash your fresh produce and wipe down the surface of your canned and boxed food. If your home uses gas cylinders, be alert for leaks. To check for leaks, run a coat of soapy water along the pipes, then with the cylinder switched on, check for bubbles or a rotten egg smell. Be sure to call Gas Malaysia at 1-800-88-9119 if you have a leak.
Although a rarity, there’s still the chance of it combusting if near an open flame and even make you sick in the long run.
To sum it up, wiping down and sanitising surfaces and handles frequently helps with maintaining a clean home. Practice common hygiene practices as an effort to get rid of unwanted germs and bacteria.
Cover image and images used are from freepik.com.
Written by Melanie Abraham