Common Dirty Devices
You should regularly be cleaning your smartphone, tablet, keyboard, mouse, television remote, and gaming controller. Since these electronic devices are touched multiple times throughout the day, especially phones, controllers, and remotes, they can have ten times the amount of bacteria found on other surfaces in your home. Touching something and then touching your phone or computer keyboard is just like transferring bacterial from one surface to the other.
The more often a particular surface is touched, the more bacterial collects there, which then makes it a serious health hazard. When it is flu season, it becomes easier to pick up germs and unknowingly pass them along to other people by sharing devices, controllers, and even the TV remote. This is why it is so important to clean your dirty devices. Not cleaning your devices every day or after every use is like increasing the chances of you or your family getting sick.
High-Touch Surfaces
Try keeping track of everything you touch around your house each day. You would be surprised! High-touch surfaces are those areas that are used a lot but rarely make it into our general cleaning lists. Take your doorknobs, cabinet handles, window blind controls, and light switches, for example. These are all touched at least once daily, some even multiple times in a day.
If these surfaces are not wiped down with a germ-killing solution, they could be 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.
Regular sanitizing of high-touch surfaces is especially important during flu season. But a lot of these surfaces cannot just 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. Containing alcohol, these wipes are able to rid surfaces of harmful bacteria.
When cleaning high-touch surfaces around the house, it is helpful to use a microfiber cloth and spray your chosen disinfectant solution on the cloth, and not directly on the light switch or doorknob. There are many commercial cleaning solutions that claim to kill bacteria and are suitable for your home’s plastic or other durable surfaces. Remember also to not use harsh chemicals on painted surfaces, wood, or natural stone to avoid damaging them.
In addition to cleaning high-touch surfaces, the CDC also recommends washing your hands frequently and cleaning all surfaces in your home with a disinfectant appropriate for the different surfaces you are cleaning. Make sure you have adequate ventilation and follow the label directions for whatever 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.
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