Many know that regular cleaning is needed to keep your Central rental home a safe haven during flu season. But it may not be enough to clean only the visible dirt. Doorknobs, light switches, computer keyboards, smartphones, tablets, television remotes, and game controllers are all easy to miss when cleaning the house. If you do not sanitize these on a regular basis, these things may harbor more harmful bacteria than even your toilet.
Common Dirty Devices
Ideally, you should be cleaning your smartphone, tablet, keyboard, mouse, television remote, and gaming controller regularly. As these electronic devices are heavily touched each day, phones, controllers, and remotes can often have ten times the amount of bacteria found on other surfaces in your home! Every time you touch something and then touch your phone or computer keyboard, you are basically transferring bacteria from one surface to another.
Surfaces that are often touched are more likely to collect bacteria and quickly become serious health hazards. Flu season is usually the time when germs are easily picked up and passed along to others through shared devices and controllers, even the TV remote. This is why it is so important to clean your dirty devices. You wouldn’t want your family to get sick just because you didn’t clean your devices every day or after every use.
High-Touch Surfaces
Do you know all the things your touch around the house each day? You might be surprised! High-touch surfaces are the areas that are often used but generally do not make it onto your cleaning lists. Some of these are doorknobs, cabinet handles, window blind controls, and light switches. We touch these items daily, sometimes even multiple times a day.
If these surfaces have not been wiped down with a germ-killing solution recently, chances are, they are harboring high levels of harmful bacteria. One study found that light switches often have 200 bacteria per square inch, while most toilets have 20 on average.
Especially during flu season, it is important that you sanitize high-touch surfaces in your home. However, these surfaces can’t simply be sprayed with liquid cleaners or disinfectants. Spraying anything on your tech devices will probably damage them. Instead, you can get those wipes that are specifically designed for cleaning electronic devices. These wipes usually contain alcohol, which can kill harmful bacteria.
For other high-touch surfaces around the house, you can use a microfiber cloth, but remember to spray the disinfectant solution on the cloth, not directly on the light switch or doorknob. There are many suitable commercial cleaning solutions that state they will kill bacteria and are suited for your home’s plastic or other durable surfaces. As you clean, remember that harsh chemicals will damage painted surfaces, wood, or natural stone so take care when cleaning these.
Additionally, the CDC recommends washing your hands frequently and cleaning all surfaces in your home with an appropriate disinfectant in addition to cleaning high-touch surfaces. Maintain proper ventilation at all times when cleaning and make sure to follow the label directions regardless of what cleaning agent you choose. These extra precautions can help keep your home as germ-free as possible, not only during the flu season but all year round.
Are you in the market for a new rental home? Contact Real Property Management Baton Rouge to speak with one of our Central property managers or view our listings online.
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