Coronavirus: how clean is your house

[catsandlavender]

Is anyone else watching this on channel 4? I feel like it’s giving me heart palpitations

What I don’t understand is why we need to wipe everything down with diluted bleach/soap and water if we’ve been home all day/washed hands?

It also worries me that it stays on clothes for a day and on plastic for 3-5 days. I haven’t been washing my clothes when I get in or washing my shopping.

Can anyone remind me what they said about washing things twice?

@Standrewsschool I’m not sure, was it the part about mopping?

I watched this and thought it was irresponsible programming and ridiculous, I think both families were more at risk from having close contact with film crews and presenters than from not bleaching everything in sight 🙄

Humans are not designed to live in a sterile environment, our immune systems are meant to be kept busy and lack of work for it causes other issues.

Been homes appeared completely normal (or slightly above average) in terms of generally being clean and tidy, that's good enough.

No, I thought they said something about cleaning the dirt of door handles etc first, and then re-cleaning it and/or disinfecting it.

I’ve been soap and water-ing door handles etc. However, what they suggested is unsustainable unless every person follows the guidance a hundred percent. As I was cleaning, I could hear my teen dc on his laptop chatting to his friends. Not sure when that was disinfected. Dh is drinking from a re-usable water bottle. Not sure when that was last washed,as he just refills it.

If you follow what they say, you would literally use a saucepan, disinfect it, put it away, then re-wash the cupboard handle you just touched, then re-wash your hands, then re-wash the taps. Etc.

I missed it, not sure I dare watch the programme.
Does anyone know if Dettol actually does anything agains this particular virus . I know the label has many claims but has anyone in the know can actually recommend it as a proper disinfectant agent for Covid19?
Elbow a Grease is a very good degreasing cleaner. I’ve been using that a lot, then rinse with warm water and medicinal alcohol for handles etc. I am constantly worried I might damage surfaces.

I couldn't watch it, and from the sound of it I'm glad I didn't. I'm already verging on obsessive hand washing and cleaning without this. I think I'd have had a meltdown.

Like another pp said, it feels like irresponsible programming.

i bought a shower spray and use it before using the shower and after, on the taps, loo handle, shower head, curtain, quite obsessively, but i think i am the only one.

i got bleach but it makes me cough,
what sort of soap should i use?
is disinfectant good?
washing up liquid?
or dettol?

Washing up liquid is fine, or liquid or ‘hard’ soap for your hands.

I watched it as polishing light switches is my new hobby given that I'm shielding and have little else to do these days.

On reflection, I think the purpose of the programme was to demonstrate how many things/surfaces we touch around the house but don't necessarily think to clean on a regular basis - like light switches.

But, it didn't say that.

The forensic folk came in to dust the houses for prints AFTER the owners had cleaned them.

There's a world of difference between a finger print from a virus laden finger and a finger print from a newly- washed-for-20-seconds-finger.

So, while I think the programme could have been helpful, sadly, I think it missed the mark.

I thought it was irresponsible. We cant live like that. We can lower community transmission but we cannot remove every risk.

i read an article yesterday about cleaning, starting with the toilet and ending in the bath, which i didnt understand.

@EricaNernie : Do you mean we all have to have a bath after we've cleaned the toilet?
Surely not?

no when you clean the bathroom you start with the toilet and end with the bath, it made my mind boggle.

You would have thought it would be the other way round, as a bath is cleaner than the toilet.

Could it be to do with flushing the toilet during the cleaning process thereby, potentially causing a bacterial spray effect?

Or, sloshing around in the water that you will use to clean the bath, after the toilet, will ensure your hands will be well and truly "washed" after touching the loo.

You could seriously drive yourself insane with all this.

I think so @Wingedharpy

I always do it the other way around and think I will continue

I saw this too OP and I totally agree with PP's about the OCD/Anxiety stuff.
I felt sorry for their kids being told THE VIRUS WILL BE ON THE BLEACH BOTTLE DON'T SHAKE YOUR CLOTHES. Bloody hell you'd shit yourself.

EricaNernie I don’t like bleach either, I feel like I can’t breathe when I use it although weirdly I like the smell. I only use it for certain jobs s not daily decontamination.
I don’t know what shower spray you mean, but if you are washing already I don’t think you need to spray the shower before head because the person before finished clean when they turned it off.
I don’t think, but don’t know for sure, that disinfectant like tpc does a proper job.
I use normal bar of soap, family (lazy lot) use liquid soap for washing hands. Both are fine. Use warm water.
I use Elbow Grease for cleaning, it’s a degreaser and cleaner but rinse afterwards. It’s an actual cleaning product.
Alcohol 70-90 % is also good but can destroy certain surfaces. I use 90% for door handles as soon as someone returns home, then all over other knobs and stuff that we touch a lot, once a day. Manly around the kitchen I couldn’t do that everywhere in the house once a day.
I still don’t know if Dettol has been proven to be effective. I’ve never used it before don’t even know if you are supposed to rinse it off.

I have always started with the toilet when cleaning bathrooms, no idea why, maybe because is one job I want out the way first, no actual logic to it.

@ssd
I think pps have spelled it out more simply
😊

Every cleaning manual I have ever read (and I much prefer reading to cleaning!) advises cleaning the loo last. It's the dirtiest area, and how much of an issue is bacterial spray if you flush with the lid down?!

@Samtsirch, what do you mean? I've got awful anxiety over this and I just need it told what to do.

Thought it was irresponsible of channel 4 to screen this. That poor woman with the young baby looked terrified! I'm still working, I don't have time to sterilise my house every day! Think one of the problems these days is that we are too clean, we need to build up some natural immunity.

I'm pleased I didn't watch it, I thought it would be as pps have described it and frankly there's no way I would cleaning my house like that.

I clean my house, I hoover and so on but I'm not going to keep cleaning door knobs every day. I wouldn't keep it up anyway.

Regarding cleaning the bathroom, I always clean the loo first, I always have done.

I wet the loo cleaning cloth at the wash basin and I'm not going to do that after I cleaned the wash basin.

I then clean the shower or bath, depending on which bathroom I'm cleaning, with the cloth I keep for cleaning those and lastly I clean the wash basin.

Seems like a logical way to do it to me.