Obviously, most people understand that regular cleaning is an appropriate way to keep your rental home safe during flu season. But, on the other hand, cleaning just the noticeable dirt may not be ample enough. Doorknobs, light switches, computer keyboards, smartphones, tablets, television remotes, and game controllers are easy to miss when cleaning the house. If you are not sanitizing them regularly, they may gather more harmful bacteria than your toilet.
How dirty are standard handheld devices?
It is very much suggested that you regularly clean your smartphone, tablet, keyboard, mouse, television remote, and gaming controller. For the reason that these electronic devices are touched so often each day, specifically phones, controllers, and remotes, they can have ten times the amount of bacteria found on other surfaces in your home! Look into it: supposing you touch something and then touch your phone or computer keyboard, you’ve transferred bacteria from one surface to the other.
The more often and regularly you touch a particular surface, the more bacteria will collect there, swiftly becoming a serious health hazard. In the course of flu season, it’s easy to pick up germs and inadvertently pass them along to others by sharing devices, controllers – even the TV remote. This is what makes cleaning your dirty devices vital. If you aren’t cleaning your devices every day or after every use, the chances are that they might get you or your family sick.
Surfaces you touch every day
Have you ever tried to monitor everything you touch around the house daily? You may be stunned! High-touch surfaces, specifically, get a lot of use but, sadly, may not make it onto your general cleaning lists. As an example, doorknobs, cabinet handles, window blind controls, and light switches are all touched daily, at times a number of times daily.
If you haven’t wiped these surfaces down with a germ-killing solution, they are probably harboring high levels of harmful bacteria. Studies have found these surfaces typically contain far more bacteria per square inch than your toilet.
Sanitizing high-touch surfaces in your home is especially principally important in the course of flu season. Having said that, these surfaces cannot clearly be sprayed with liquid cleaners or disinfectants. Spraying anything on your tech devices will do damage to them. But instead, you can shop for wipes designed to clean electronic devices. These wipes regularly contain alcohol, which kills harmful bacteria.
For other high-touch surfaces around the house, make use of a microfiber cloth and spray a disinfectant solution on the cloth, not plainly or directly on the light switch or doorknob. A commercial cleaning solution that specifically implies it will kill bacteria will work for your home’s plastic or other durable surfaces. Just don’t use harsh chemicals on painted surfaces, wood, or natural stone, as the chemicals will damage these areas.
Besides high-touch surfaces, the CDC recommends washing your hands frequently and cleaning all surfaces in your home with a disinfectant best for the type of surface you’re cleaning. Just be watchful to have proper ventilation and obey the label directions irrespective of what cleaning agent you pick. By taking these extra precautions, you can keep your home as germ-free as possible during flu season and all year long.
Are you in the market for a new rental home? Contact Real Property Management Metro Detroit to speak to one of our property managers servicing Troy and nearby or browse our available listings.
Originally Published on November 26, 2021
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