Decontaminating deliveries

[SquashedFlyBiscuit]

I know this sounds like Ive lost the plot completely.... but Im worried about how to best ensure there no chance of virus when I have food delivered.

For clarity-

• I'm v high risk and asthma already not well controlled.
• We've isolated as a family since Monday.
• Im not wanting to just reduce risk but minimise it entirely as v anxious Id have to be ventilated and may not survive, leaving small children.

So we're not doing amazon deliveries of fun stuff for the children to do or anything non essential. We're not leaving the house.

So if I have food arriving whats the best way to ensure we are "safe." Its shown the virus does remain on packaging althiugh it isnt considered a main way of transmition. As i said its only because we're high risk I'm concerned. Id rather be super careful.

We have soap and toilet bleach but not detol.

We could wash our hands, empty grocery abgs onto floor. Wash everything. Wash hands? We dont have a garage or porch where we could say leave it for a week or anything.

Anyone able to help me in my madness?

I’m washing my hands straight after getting it in and trying to just leave everything sat there for 24 hours plus before I touch it, though don’t know if that’s enough. I’ve sprayed over a few things with zoflora.

It’s on my mind too. I’m already ill but with no way of knowing if this is it though it’s certainly mimicked the symptoms. But if it isn’t, I’m in a really weakened state from being unwell with whatever this is for 2 weeks and if I caught it now I’m worried it would finish me off.

For amazon deliveries we are removing outer packaging, binning and washing hands straight away. The inner packaging and food packets are harder to know what to do with.

For amazon, we’re presuming inner packaging was packed long enough ago to be ok.

Food is harder. I think just unpack, wash hands and hope for the best.

I'm spraying plastic packaging with bleach and wiping it down. If I open any post etc I wash my hands straight after. Any fruit or veg we buy we wash with soap and water before putting in fridge. You cannot be too careful and it all seems extreme but it is sensible imo.

Thanks. We have a tescos delivery coming and do have anywhere to leave it like a garage (for a week? Do we know how long?)

We assume yo wipe stuff although it comes in plastic the delivery driver will have lifted.

So delivery driver, or the supermarket picker or people in the supermarket could have all touched it in the last few days.

Im trying to google how long germs stay on everything.

I wish i had space inside my front door!

We've been putting gloves on to take deliveries in stripping and binning all packing and the gloves. We've been washing or wiping all packs and food down as well. We do it when we get in car as well, anti bac wipe everything down. Been doin this for last 2 weeks it's becoming automatic now.

So www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200320192755.htm

Says 24 hours cardboard. 3 days on plastic and steel.

I could wash with soapy water or diluted bleach.

Dont have disposable gloves.

We have minimised so far by not having dleiveries and quaranteed the work pack delivered from school (how lond does it remain on paper!?)

I’m the opposite to everyone else it seems but I’m not concerned about this. You can’t catch it from touching things anyway, you only catch it by transferring the virus to your mucus membranes with your hands. Just wash your hands after unpacking it. Even if the packaging was contaminated, the virus won’t survive long and it’s obviously not going to jump off the surfaces to you just by being inside your house.

If you’ve never worried about catching something from post and deliveries, this is really no different.

If you have rubbing alcohol you can wipe your goods down with this undiluted (min, 70% alcohol).

I’m wiping down all packaging with diluted bleach but I think from now on I’ll remove as much packaging as possible in the garage and dispose of it immediately. Remainder of packaging I’ll wipe down with diluted bleach and leave in quarantine in the garage for 72 hours.
I hadn’t thought about post, but I’ll start washing hands as soon as it’s been opened. I think I’ll assume that the actual letter inside the envelope has been in there long enough to be “clean”.

@viccat I am the same as you. I am not washing my shopping or carrying out any other decontamination processes apart from washing my hands

@viccat I'm doing the same, I don't believe there is need for some of the extreme measures others are going to.

Viccat did you see the studies? They show it can remain on surfaces hence all the manic deep cleaning in schools and in hospitals etc. Its unlikely to transmit but possible.

I dont think most people need to be this worried, no. However I am v high risk and as it could kill me, and there may not be enough ventilaators I need to be unbelievably careful

They have deep cleaned some schools and hospitals if there are actual cases of covid 19 there. I don't see deliveries as high risk tbh.

We haven't had any big shops in yet but the few items we have, just used anti bac wipes on them. Had two people drop me off some second hand baby items and we have anti bac'd what we can and them put in the spare room for 72hrs min. Baby isn't due until May, so hoping any possible virus will have gone.

I did read that only 0.1% of the virus is left on surfaces though, so low risk.

If you have 95% isopropyl does that work or is it not dilute enough? I know with sanitisers when the concentration is too high they don't work as well.

Demented as I said I am aware its not high risk and for most people that's fine. For most people its not a big deal really. But I could die if I get it so if the delivery driver is asymptomatic and passes it on its a risk I actually can't take.

I dont have isopropal or know what it is ! So I dont know.

If we had a garage I'd just leave everything in it for a week but delivery will be to front door.

I had a delivery today and washed all food that needed to stay packaged in soapy water (literally just soap flakes in warm water) and then dried well. Everything else I removed from packaging. With bread though I had to just wipe the packaging.

I also washed the kitchen sides with soapy water and zoflora. Binned all the bags and washed my hands well multiple times as I was doing it. Very ott and I am aware of that. But I have a lot of time on my hands now.

I'm using dettol wipes on packaging or spaying with antibac. Washing fruit and veg in diluted Miltons. Disposing of packaging straightaway so it's not hanging around. And hand washing.

Postie is leaving packages on doorstep and haven't really had anything else delivered.

Bleach is far better than dettol, make up a solution and spray hard packaging, bottles, tins etc. Virus will find it hard to survive on soft surfaces. I'll point out to anyone reading this who's worried it shouldn't be necessary for low risk individuals to do this - simply washing your hands after putting the shopping away will be okay.

Idiot question here. If i dilate the bleach it still works against corona right? Like the capful in a bucket or whatever it is. I dont usually use bleach.

It will be my husband doing it as bleach fumes excacerbate my asthma and we're doing everything to avoid that. We're working our way round the house clearing surfaces , cleaning, hoovering etc just so dust isnt an issue either. Fun times!

Yes it will, dilution instructions should be on the bottle. I don't typically use bleach (apart from down the toilet) but whenever there's a virus going round such as noro I will use it. Remember to wipe down your door handles too.

Squashed at least it will all look sparkling!