Are you disinfecting your groceries and medicines etc?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

Wondering what the safest way to shop is. If we wear gloves and take own reusable bags instead of the manky basket, is that likely to be enough?

I wiped down a case of wine with rubbing alcohol so suppose could do that with food things in packaging. What about fruit and veg though, I don't want to rub down my potatoes or peppers with alcohol or bleach.

What are you doing?

No,I’m not. Did cross my mind that we should be wiping down every surface, but haven’t been doing it all day, apart from wiping down door handles etc.

I thought about this, for delivered items as well as in shops but I can’t see how you can cover all bases. So if you wear gloves you’re protecting your hands but then you’re touching all the items with the potentially infected gloves. Do you then sterilise every single item and get rid of the bags? Plus touching your keys, car doors etc with your gloves etc.

I think the reality is it’s impossible to completely eradicate potential contamination. But for parcels being delivered I’m disposing of packaging straight away and washing hands.

Posted this initially as new thread, but better here maybe. Am a 70+ mum (two 30+ sons, no longer kids, and elsewhere), so having everything delivered (that's another story of course). Might ironing newspaper etc. help kill covid-19? Can't find anything online - but would be practical solution for many if it makes sense. Notable lack of practical tips from those privately-educated blokes in charge, hence to mumsnet 😉

No. I did say to dh today that some people are doing this but that I feel I need to draw a line somewhere. I’m avoiding touching handles, I’m paying by contactless, I’m keeping 2 m away from people, I wash my hands when I get home.

No I'm not. I think the main transmission is person to person so I'm not going to start getting paranoid about other things

I wash fruit and veg in hot and then cold water, I think that's that advice. Remove packaging then wash hands.

I’m not. I did consider it but I have OCD and I think doing that would send me into a spiral. There’s a “funny” video going round on Facebook of a guy washing his hands and touching things and realising he’s contaminated again and rewashing and rinse and repeat until he’s laying on the floor in defeat. That would be me if went down the washing the tins route.

No, I have OCD and if I started doing that I wouldn’t be able to stop .

I went through 5 days of not eating and barely drinking because of this - scared all food and water contaminated - NHS said to calm down, that if cereal boxes are contaminated for instance there’s precious little we can do about it . Where do you stop - wash the cereal box, but what about the bag of cereal inside , and then the cereal itself?

They told me to wash hands before eating, after using the toilet, and after coming in from outside . Avoid touching face when possible . Clean counters once a day - once after a Tesco shop too - and clean internal door handles .

My only question is handling the bucket lids outside, and touching the door handle outside - I can’t open the door without using my hand, and then when I get in I can’t get to a sink rapidly without using another door .

So I’m not sure if each time I need to use the door I should wash my hands then retrace every step, wash every surface I might have contacted, then wash hands again .. then sink ... then hands again ... it’s exhausting .

We've had shopping delivered and we've been wiping all packages down with dilute zoflora and then washing all the fresh fruit and veg as per normal.

Its the best we can do.

I wouldn't be thinking about the newspaper if it weren't delivered to us by hand (because we're supposed to be vulnerable and can't go out). I'll iron the outside layer until someone says it's daft I think - it's very easy. Butlers used to do it all the time . . .

@ocdhelpcovid19 buy medical alcohol put it in a spray bottle and using either a clothe or paper towel to wipe. That way everything will be clean.

We are using antibacterial wipes to clean everything down before it's put away. One person wipes it down the other puts away.

Same for letters and parcels.

Whether we're doing it correctly or if it even needs to be done doesn't matter really, it makes us feel better and we feel like we're at least trying to minimthe chances of catching it.

We aren't going out and everything is delivered.

I think it’s time to leave newspapers in the past and stick to digital content. You can’t really disinfect a newspaper. Bringing an iron to a newspaper is a recipe for disaster.

Yes I do, but I am high risk group. I also ask to leave it on the doorstep.

Unless you are instituting full barrier precautions, you're wasting your time and your wipes

I open doors and bins with my sleeve and kick it shut when I get in I take off my coat and hung in direct sunlight and go wash my hands also shoes always taken off at the door.

Surely you could just leave it for a couple of days so that a virusy bits could die off? www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/new-coronavirus-stable-hours-surfaces

I read that on cardboard / paper the virus only lives for 24hours somewhere - but can't find it again now. If true that would mean you can just leave packages outside for a day or two - and ditto mail.

I'm going to say I'm getting pretty pissed off at the junk mail now. It's bad enough normally, can't the post office just refuse to deliver it - it's risking their staff and customers by introducing a completely unnecessary potential exposure pathway

I haven't cleaned any shopping, just putting it away as normal. I don't buy a lot in plastic packaging, however, and I think the virus can survive a while on plastic

nameisthegame see I’m trying to do that jet then my next thought is, my coat will have the virus - which could transfer to my hands again ... and so on and on ..

I ask the delivery men to please leave the stuff in the garage where we leave it for 9 days.

As for post, we check it once a week with gloves on and put contents worth keeping into plastic folders.

I still worry we've made a mistake somewhere and will get infected.

We are in London and I have pretty severa asthma so have to be super cautious. I doubt I'd be given a ventilator let alone an ICU bed. Wish we lived in Germany.

Obvious risks if not done carefully 🔥 but has been regularly done by British butlers for a very long time. There are even youtube videos on how to do it.

Sorry new to this, that was re ironing newspapers. I'm concerned about overuse of disinfectants because they are bad for cats and we have a lively and curious one