Maintain a COVID-Free Home

By Home Care April 15, 2020

With more confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) here in Hawaii and across the globe, stay-at-home orders and social distancing practices have taken hold. This is imperative to containing further spread of the virus. However, some of us must leave our homes for essential needs or have ‘essential jobs’. It’s important to practice good hygiene to keep ourselves and family safe. It’s good practice to continuously clean and disinfect the obvious and not-so-obvious surfaces the virus can live on.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) refers cleaning to the removal of germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces. It does not kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection. The CDC also recommends killing germs on surfaces by disinfecting after cleaning to further lower the risk of spreading infection.

Here are ways to maintain proper hygiene and a clean home:

    1. Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces daily in household common areas.
      Common household areas include doorknobs, light switches, hard-backed chairs, remote controls, and handles on toilets and sinks. To remain as virus-free as possible, clean any surfaces you come in contact with a disinfectant spray or disinfectant wipe. Our cellphone is one of the most germ-filled items we come into contact with. Make sure you clean it regularly. It’s important to leave disinfecting solutions on the surface for a certain amount of time to be effective. If you do not have any disinfecting solutions in your household, you can make a simple bleach solution by mixing 5 tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water. Always remember, clean first then disinfect.
    2. Wear disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
      Gloves should be discarded after each cleaning. If reusable gloves are used, those gloves should be dedicated for cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and should not be used for other purposes.
    3. Let your washing machine do the shaking.
      There is no specific research on how long viruses can survive on clothes, towels or other fabrics. But it’s still a good idea to change and wash your clothes regularly — especially if you’ve just come back home from the grocery store or are still reporting to work every day. The CDC recommends using the warmest appropriate water setting for your clothes and drying them completely. (And save the shaking for when your laundry is clean, as it could potentially disperse germs into the air from clothes when they’re dirty.) Clean and disinfect clothes hampers. If possible, consider placing a bag liner that is either disposable (can be thrown away) or can be laundered.
    4. Wash your hands!
      It is important to wash your hands often especially after touching surfaces, sneezing, coughing, etc. CDC and the World Health Organization recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol can be used but should not substitute hand washing. Avoid touching your face.
About the Author
Andrew Leong, REALTOR®, RB-21696, PARTNER | SRES, CAPS

Andrew Leong was born and rasied on the island of Oahu. He is a graduate from the Shidler College of Business at UH Manoa with a degree in Marketing. Prior to real estate, Andrew worked in hospitality management giving him great experience as a dedicated service professional. He strongly believes that being a realtor is more than just helping clients buy or sell a home, as a consultant he is there to guide clients to help make the best choices when it comes to the most important purchase of their lives. It’s not about the dollar but building relationships and doing what’s best for his clients. 

With the abundance of information available to clients today through multiple different media channels, Andrew’s superior market knowledge, negotiating skills and strong community relationships have helped give his clients that competetive edge for over 10 years.