IMPORTANCE OF CLEANING SURFACES

[ASundayWellSpent]

www.statnews.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-survives-on-surfaces-how-to-protect-yourself/

I am writing from Spain where we are on day 11 of our total lockdown. It is very frustrating to see how England aren't taking this seriously and are heading for the same disastrous situation as us. However, we didn't pay mind to what was happening in Italy either, it is hard to get your head around it until you are living through it.

An important point to remember about covid-19 is how long it can live on different surfaces. When you are saying "I went to visit auntie betty with the kids but we didnt hug and sat on different sofas", apart from still being daft and dangerous, you're not taking into account the amount of things that you are touching. Same at work. Same going out for a walk or a drive or whatever. Think about all the handles, all the bells, all the car park ticket machines, all the supermarket trolleys, the lift buttons EVERYTHING.

Whilst its not dangerous to have the virus on your hands, you can pass it onto another surface, another person's hand etc etc. And lets be honest, we all touch our faces, our mouths, our eyes.

In Spain we have to wear gloves and masks at all times outside the house now.

Please take the not going out seriously. Please take the hand washing seriously. Please consider wearing gloves. Please wipe down doors and surfaces at least morning and night.

Rant over.

Thank you. Good reminder.

Last week I was at Costco and they were wiping down handles on trolleys, handles on fridge/freezer units etc. We all washed our hands before leaving the store. Ive been wiping down all our light switches, door handles, loo handles, kitchen knobs etc in our house. Everyone takes shoes off at the door and washes hands right away (we’ve only been going out for food, walking the dog - but staying well away from others).

Thinking about making our own masks. Knowing full well it doesn’t stop the virus - BUT is a reminder not to touch your face while out. I’ll be wearing gloves too when I next need to go for food.

bump

I've been using my steam cleaner to blast my worktops, door handles, light pulls, keys and anything else that takes my fancy. Makes me feel like a ghostbuster.

SquashedSpring, can you recommend a steam cleaner.

I've got a Vax steam mop, which can also be used as a handheld and comes with various attachments. I really like it, but I haven't tried any others, so there may be better ones.

I've been doing this for at least 2-3 weeks now and was laughed at by my partner initially. I do microwave buttons, tv remote, light switches, keys, purse, phone, vape, xbox controllers, laptop buttons, fridge. Basically anything and everything that anyone in our house touches regularly. I hope I don't run out of cleaning products and hand wash. I've been in isolation for a week now.

I've been doing this for at least 2-3 weeks now and was laughed at by my partner initially. I do microwave buttons, tv remote, light switches, keys, purse, phone, vape, xbox controllers, laptop buttons, fridge. Basically anything and everything that anyone in our house touches regularly. I hope I don't run out of cleaning products and hand wash. I've been in isolation for a week now.

Surely if you've not left the house at all for a week you don't need to be doing all this? Totally understand if your partner is still in and out though.

Yep. Very good advice. I've never used anti bac sprays in my life but I'm a convert now.
Peopke in the UK, please take the advice seriously. I"m in Spain too, and a couple of weeks ago everyone was relaxed here like people are in the UK at the moment. It doesn't feel real when it's in another country.
Incidentally OP where are you getting masks from? I'm in Madrid and they are no masks available as they are all reserved for healthcare workers. I'm wearing a buff with a piece of gauze inside as it's the best I can do.
Ánimo. We can get through this.

What do you wipe things down with? Any products in particular? I'm running out of wipes and wary of bleach on some surfaces.

Surely if you've not left the house at all for a week you don't need to be doing all this? Totally understand if your partner is still in and out though
A family member is in the high risk category so I think its anxiety driven too!

I use diluted zoflora in a spray bottle/wipes/kitchen roll/ dettol spray.
I'm opening the doors and windows for ventilation too, it's nice to get a fresh spring breeze through.

We don’t have gloves and masks to spare in this Country OP but lucky you if you have them. My husband is a a Dr and they don’t even have enough.
Yes I’m cleaning surfaces every day but there’s a limit to how much of that you can realistically do. And you would really have to clean every door handle / light switch every time someone touched them!
We could go insane if we worried about constantly cleaning like that.

@missyB1
I have commented to my sister just the other day that the handwashing and cleaning will potentially lead to OCD for some. It's like it's being ingrained in us to wash wash wash our hands constantly.

Washing up liquid in hot water is the best thing for surfaces that can't take bleach solution.
Ptetend those surfaces are your hands, wash and dry them.
Antibacterial stuff doesn't work.
All that panic buying of antibac soap and cleaner and it turns out detergent and bleach are the most effective things.

Surely, if you don't leave the house at all it's OK? If you DO go out, then you change your clothes and wash your hands as soon as you get back, you might just have a couple of door handles to do?

Do you have to dry the surface or leave it to air dry?

Gloves often give a false sense of security. Wearing gloves is not effective unless you change them regularly as the germs live on gloves in the same way as they live on your hands. So If you touch a surface you need to change your gloves. In the same way as if you touch a surface not wearing gloves you need to wash your hands.

If you don't go out, and no one else in the household does do you need to be cleaning surfaces regularly too? I been leaving post and parcels for 24 hours in the secure porch box, and then removing from packaging outside and throwing away and washing hands; using gloves to unpack food deliveries and then wiping the items down and washing my hands. Self isolating so not going out, no one else is either. I don't want to be using lots of product in case I could be saving them?

It is very frustrating to see how England aren't taking this seriously

This just simply isn't true. The vast majority of the country is taking it extremely seriously and are following the rules. There are photos of my local city for example - Manchester - and it's completely deserted. Same with countless towns and villages across the country.

Just as you get in any society, there are pockets of people who will flout the rules. So we have the same here. The photo you've probably seen of people rammed into a tube in London - that doesn't represent the rest of us, you know. We have around 60 million people - some people in a tube in London don't represent the rest of us.

All over the country are people taking this extremely seriously, keeping 6 feet apart if they're in an unavoidable queue, giving each other a huge wide berth on our designated one exercise a day, and staying home.

I didn't mean the people aren't taking it seriously, I meant the government aren't taking it more seriously, acting quicker or making measures that are stricter, sorry if that was unclear.

Clearly there is no need to be obsessive, and if you don't leave the house AT ALL then just your normal house cleaning is sufficient. But surely someone is leaving to buy food? Touching the car, the trolley, the money, the checkout, the food itself which has been stocked on the shelves by various people etc, and then coming home and at least opening the door before they can clean themselves etc.

Just be wary of what you are touching, clean hands and "hot spots" regularly

We don't have access to gloves or masks either which is ironic as you need to wear both to be allowed into the supermarket... we were given one mask between our family of 6, as the rule is only one allowed to leave the house at a time anyway, and we wear washing up gloves... the time of feeling daft is long gone