Think you’ve been properly disinfecting your home to protect against germs? If you miss this simple step, all your efforts may be for nothing. PLEASE share this post — this is incredibly important information!
If you’ve never been much of a germaphobe, you probably are now. With the coronavirus circling the globe, most of us have seriously amped up our cleaning and hygiene habits. Suddenly we’re singing the “happy birthday” song twice while washing our hands, going to every store we can to find the last of the Purell, engaging in elbow-tap greetings, keeping our hands off our faces, and becoming BFFs with Lysol.
Even though we’re trying to do doing everything right, it’s easy to feel like we’re making a misstep somewhere.
Did I accidentally touch my cheek?
Did I forget to use Purell after touching the door?
Did I stand too close to someone at the grocery store?
Did I lose count of how many seconds I was washing my hands?
I’m here to tell you that you may very well be making a big misstep. In fact, I’d say about 75% of the people I’ve chatted with about this recently had no idea about what I’m about to tell you. But don’t worry, it’s easily correctable!
What is it?
Disinfectants need to STAY on surfaces in order to do their job.
So many of us “spray and wipe,” thinking that with our swift wipe, we’ve wiped away all of the germs.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. “Contact time,” the amount of time the disinfectant spends on the surface, is critical. To quote the EPA via CNN:
The EPA says it’s best to follow the instructions on the disinfectant’s label and pay attention to how long the product should be on the surface you’re cleaning.
You can find this information on the label for the product you use. A bottle of Lysol I have in my kitchen, for example, needs to stay on surfaces for six minutes before wiping:
Check the back of the disinfectant you use and make sure to use it properly!
EPA-Approved Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2
Not sure what disinfectant to use? You can find the list of EPA-approved disinfectants here.
EPA Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations
You can find the EPA’s cleaning and disinfection recommendations here.
When Should You Use a Mask? (from the World Health Organization)
Please Share This Post!
This is incredibly important information — please pass it along!
The post Your Disinfectant Won’t Work if You Don’t Do This One Thing appeared first on ForgetSugar.