Most people clearly know that consistent cleaning is an excellent way to keep your South Jordan rental home a safe place to be during flu season. However, cleaning solely the obvious dirt may not be enough. Doorknobs, light switches, computer keyboards, smartphones, tablets, television remotes, and game controllers are all very easy to omit when cleaning the house. If you are not sanitizing them often and regularly, these things may get more harmful bacteria on them than, say, your toilet.
Common Dirty Devices
It is highly advised that you take time to regularly clean your smartphone, tablet, keyboard, mouse, television remote, and gaming controller. Considering how often these electronic devices are touched each day, mainly phones, controllers, and remotes, they can have ten times the amount of bacteria found on other surfaces in your home! Simply think about it: every time you touch something and then touch your phone or computer keyboard, you’ve transferred bacteria from one surface to the other.
The more often you touch a particular surface, the more bacteria will stay there, swiftly turning into a major health hazard. During flu season, it’s simple and easy to acquire germs and by accident pass them along to others by sharing devices, controllers – even the TV remote. This is what makes cleaning your dirty devices so necessary. If you aren’t cleaning your devices every single day or after every use, the prospects are that they might get you or your family sick.
High-Touch Surfaces
Have you ever tried to be aware of various things you touch around the house each day? You may be stunned and astonished! High-touch surfaces, mainly, are areas that get a lot of use but indeed may not make it onto your general cleaning lists. For instance, doorknobs, cabinet handles, window blind controls, and light switches are all touched daily, often numerous times a day.
If you haven’t wiped these surfaces down with a germ-killing solution, the possibilities are that they are harboring high levels of harmful bacteria. One study deemed that light switches often have 200 bacteria per square inch, while most toilets have 20 on average.
Over flu season, it’s absolutely vital to sanitize high-touch surfaces in your home. Though quite a lot of these surfaces cannot simply be sprayed with liquid cleaners or disinfectants. Spraying anything on your tech devices will cause great damage to them. On the other hand, you can purchase wipes that are specially designed to clean electronic devices. These wipes normally contain alcohol, which will kill the 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 directly on the light switch or doorknob. A commercial cleaning solution that primarily states it will kill bacteria will work best for your home’s plastic or other durable surfaces. Just don’t choose and use harsh chemicals on painted surfaces, wood, or natural stone, as the chemicals will actually damage these areas.
Aside from high-touch surfaces, the CDC mentions and prescribes washing your hands frequently and cleaning all surfaces in your home with a disinfectant appropriate for the type of surface you’re cleaning. Just be cautious to have proper ventilation and adhere to the label directions, it doesn’t matter what cleaning agent you decide on. By taking these added precautions, you can keep your home as germ-free as possible during flu season and all year round.
Are you in the market for a new rental home? Contact Real Property Management Wasatch to discuss more with one of our South Jordan property managers or view our listings online.
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