Cleaning and disinfecting your home

As the outbreak of Covid-19 continues, keeping loved ones safe and healthy is at the top of everyone’s mind. Even though the transmission of Covid-19 is much greater via person-to-person contact, in comparison to transmission via surfaces, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advises cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces within the home at least once per day. This will decrease the chances of anyone in your home contracting Covid-19 and lower the risk of spreading it to others. So, let’s take a look at the best ways to disinfect your house.

The difference between cleaning and disinfecting

Cleaning and disinfecting the surfaces in your home are both important. But it’s good to note that there is a difference between the two.

Cleaning a surface removes germs, impurities, and dirt. You can do this by mixing warm water with soap, or a detergent. This will physically remove the germs, but it won’t necessarily kill them. In comparison, disinfectants contain chemicals so using an appropriate one is the best way to kill germs in your house.

Getting ready to clean and disinfect

Here’s a few steps to take when cleaning and disinfecting your home.

Wear a pair of disposable gloves and discard after use or opt for a pair of reusable rubber gloves that are dedicated to cleaning and disinfecting.
Make sure you wash and moisturize your hands afterwards.
Follow the instructions on the label to make sure you are using the product safely and effectively.
Ensure that you have good ventilation while using the product.

Soft and hard surfaces (including appliances and electronics)

Try starting out with the surfaces in your home. Clean them first and then follow with a disinfectant. This will efficiently kill any germs present.

Start off by wiping the surface down with a hand towel dipped in warm, soapy water.

Then follow with a surface-appropriate disinfectant. You can opt to use a Clorox® Multipurpose Spray Cleaner for your home or Clorox® Expert Disinfecting Wipes, if you’re looking for an easier method that is equally effective. Both will work well on a variety of surfaces. Clorox® kills 99.9% of germs and is 100% effective in cleaning and disinfecting.

There are certain surfaces that we encounter at a high frequency every day which need to be cleaned and disinfected regularly. Examples of these high-touch surfaces include:

Table surfaces
Door knobs, handles and light switches
Kitchen counters
Staircase railings
Kitchen appliance handles (refrigerator, dishwasher, oven and microwave)
Desks
Drawers
Cupboards
Remote controls
Game controllers
Mobile devices and home telephones
Tablets
Touchscreen devices
Keyboards
Laptops
Credit cards
Key chains

Clorox® Expert Disinfecting Wipes are also great for on-the-go use. They can be stored in the car and used to keep wipeable, high-touch car surfaces disinfected. You can also take them with you when you will be engaging with surfaces in public places, such as shopping carts and tables in food courts.

Wall tiles and floors

It’s good to have your walls and floors clean and disinfected with a pleasant smell. For that there are Clorox® Multipurpose Disinfectant Cleaners that will do both jobs in one. Follow the simple steps below to disinfect appropriate floor and wall surfaces.

Preclean visibly soiled surfaces
To disinfect, mop or wipe surface with Clorox® solution, allowing solution to contact surface for at least 2 min.
Rinse and air dry.

Bathroom and kitchen

When it comes to the bathroom and kitchen, you can choose from Clorox® Expert Disinfecting Wipes and a variety of Clorox® Disinfectant Sprays. There are sprays available that are designated to use in the bathroom and kitchen. There are also options for multipurpose cleaning and disinfecting like Clorox® Multipurpose Disinfectant Cleaners which can be used as a whole-house disinfectant. All Clorox® sprays kill 99.9% of germs and can be used safely on multiple hard surfaces. Clorox® Manual Toilet Cleaners and Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaners are also a handy addition to your bathroom-cleaning routine.

Furniture and indoor fabrics

Just like our clothes, the fabrics inside of our homes can easily pick up germs that we bring in from outside. It’s good to disinfect these along with the surfaces throughout your home. Indoor fabrics include everything from couch surfaces and bed linens, to towels and clothing. For fabrics that are appropriate to go in with your whites, you can add Clorox® bleach to your laundry routine to clean and disinfect. Just follow the quick steps below

Add detergent.
Fill Clorox® to max line in dispenser or add 1 cup (250 ml) for top loading machines or 1/2 cup (125 ml) for front loading machines to wash water.
Add white clothes and start wash cycle.

There are certain fabrics that you should avoid bleaching. Such as wool, silk, mohair, leather, spandex and nonfast colors. All other white fabrics (indoor or outdoor) can be washed in a mix of detergent and bleach as per the instructions above, while following those on the fabric care label.

Alternatively, you can wash these fabrics with regular detergent. After that, dry everything at a slightly higher temperature than usual. This will also disinfect your clothing and indoor fabrics.

When it comes to furniture around the home, such as your couch and similar items, there is Clorox® Expert Aerosol Disinfectant Spray which is efficient for disinfecting.