Home HygieneKill Virus Germs to Prevent Swine Flu
Let’s say that you decide to take the safest route and that you voluntarily quarantine your family. You’ve prepared by stocking up on food and water. You’ve made arrangements to work from home. Your wife spoke with school officials and has the children’s assignments so that she can home-school the children for a few months. So that means that you should be in pretty good shape, right? Well, there are a few things that need to be considered before you breathe a sigh of relief. As the pandemic flu becomes an issue in your area, you’ll need to pay particular attention to cleaning your home. Even if you’ve been somewhat casual about this in the past, it will have to be an important part of your routine now.
Photo courtesy of bethany
Bleach Kills VirusesBleach kills viruses. Even deadly viruses like HIV (Aids) and Avian Flu . After spraying, let the bleach sit on the surface for a minute or two (to allow time for it to kill the virus germs) and then wipe the surface dry. Even though a flu virus is deadly, viruses are very delicate and you can kill virus germs easily if you use the right disinfectant. If you prefer, instead of using bleach, use a disinfectant like Lysol.Use paper towels to wipe surfaces dry after spraying them with bleach. Discard the paper towels immediately. Do NOT try to conserve paper towels and save money by using a paper towel on one surface and then using it again on another surface—this is a proven way to spread the germs from one surface to another!
Bathroom HygieneOne area needing your special attention for home hygiene is the bathroom and its millions of germs. Spray your bathrooms frequently with a mixture of ¼ c bleach to 1 qt of water to disinfect surfaces such as the sink, countertop, toilet seat, etc.Keep a spray container handy in those rooms so that you can do this routinely. Sanitize surfaces in the bathroom frequently. Spray with bleach to kill any flu virus germs on the surfaces. Another approach would be to use an anti-microbial film on the flat surfaces in your bathroom – counter tops, mirror, walls surrounding sink area, etc. Treated with silver, which is a natural anti-viral substance, the anti-microbial film will eradicate flu virus germs (and also bacteria and fungi), naturally and automatically.
Good Bathroom HabitsMake sure that you are using good habits that don’t spread germs to bathroom surfaces. For example, when you brush your teeth, lean down and brush into the sink. Toothpaste and saliva can travel several feet when you’re brushing.I know this sounds extreme, so you can test this by standing in front of a mirror and brushing. See how far back from the mirror you have to stand in order to prevent toothpaste droplets from hitting the mirror. Flies can carry the virus from infected fecal matter or body fluids and then sit on your food or drinking glass. To prevent flies from having access to the toilet, close the lid when it is not in use. Kill flies immediately and dispose of them so that other flies don’t find them. One last item for home hygiene in the bathroom. Put the toilet seat down when you flush. Believe it or not, someone in England did research on this and found that water can splash out of the toilet when flushed and go a distance of 3 yards! You think about the implications that this raises. Especially if you are a child and only stand 3 feet tall!
Kitchen HygieneThe kitchen has its own separate issues for home hygiene. Keep a spray container of bleach and water handy to spray on your counters and sink and faucet handles to sanitize them. Let the solution sit for about 2 minutes, then wipe dry with paper towels. Dispose of them immediately.Wear disposable vinyl gloves to prepare fresh fruit or vegetables from the store and wash the food carefully with a mild bleach solution (1 tablespoon to a pint of water) to kill any virus germs from other people’s hands or sneezes at the store. Rinse well with fresh water.
Home Hygiene for Handling Raw PorkOne area where you can’t cut corners is when you handle and prepare raw pork or wild game like wild boars for cooking. Make sure that you use vinyl or latex gloves to handle the meat and that you thoroughly clean the kitchen areas used, with bleach (or use anti-microbial film on counter tops).So far, scientists believe that you cannot get sick with swine flu , H1N1, from thoroughly cooked pork. Don’t let your children or pets handle the raw meat. Also, don’t feed any raw body parts to your animals, as it is possible that they will get sick from infected meat! One of the most important things you can do for flu prevention and home hygiene is simply to make sure that your home is clean. You can easily kill virus germs using common household bleach or a disinfectant like Lysol. Just taking a few minutes a day to disinfect surfaces in your home will go a long way toward preventing swine flu in your family.
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