With the vast amount of information floating around online, it’s easy to get overwhelmed while trying to find the right answers. We want to feel confident that we’re doing things the right way when it comes to disinfecting our homes, to properly prevent exposing ourselves and our quarantine companions to Coronavirus. After scouring the internet for the best techniques to get our homes sanitized and slow the spread of the virus, the verdict is in:
Keep it simple, and be thorough.
We're Gonna Say It Again...Wash Your Hands… A LOT.
Do it as soon as you come in the door from being out and about. Do it before you touch your mouth and nose. Do it before you eat. Just go ahead and give them a wash after you finish reading this, for good measure.
Studies have revealed that the single most impactful thing we can do to stop Coronavirus in its tracks, is to wash those hands like there’s no tomorrow.
Let’s face it: You have to touch things. And other people have probably touched them before you did. You can be as careful as you please, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the person who turned the doorknob or handled your packages before you was as vigilant as you are. What we can control, however, is how virus-free our own hands are.
New information is emerging daily about exactly how long the virus can actually stay viable and dangerous on particular surfaces. Some of these figures are downright surprising. As there’s often no way of knowing how long exactly it’s been since something you touch was potentially exposed, we recommend not taking any unnecessary risks, and just washing your hands as often as you can manage. And when you can’t get to a sink, be sure to have some hand sanitizer with you, as lipid membrane viruses such as Coronavirus are killed by alcohol-based hand sanitizers. To ensure your hand sanitizer is up to the task, be sure to use one that contains at least 62% alcohol. Try our Urbanbella Hand Sanitizer for your supply runs to the store- so you can make sure you’re not bringing more than just groceries home with you, or for a ride on your steering wheel.
Here’s why hand washing is so effective:
- Coronavirus cells are surrounded by a lipid envelope- think of this as a protective layer of fat. Soap breaks this fat apart, corrupting the virus and making it unable to infect you.
- Soap makes skin slippery, so with enough lathering (at least 20 seconds of scrubbing with the soap, and we mean everywhere… The backs of your hands, the heel of your palms and under your fingernails) will create enough friction to physically dislodge dangerous microbes from your skin.
- Once the soap and scrubbing action has lifted the viral cells off your skin, rinsing with lots of fresh water washes them away.
With all that washing, you want to make sure you take care of the skin that's left on your hands after all that scrubbing! Use a hand wash that's formulated especially to nurture the important moisture balance in your skin, like our Urbanbella Soothe and Restore Hand Wash. Then follow up after washing and drying thoroughly with a nourishing hand lotion to replenish lost moisture. We love the highly bio-available oils and anti-inflammatory Cucumber and Green Tea Extracts in Urbanbella Soothe and Restore Hand Lotion to restore lost moisture in our hands.
Don't forget to apply your lotion after using hand santizer too, as the alcohol required to kill the Coronavirus cells will dry out your skin if you're not properly replenishing it afterwards. Grab your Urbanbella Hand Sanitizer and Lotion Duo here.
Disinfect All Your High-Touch Surfaces
As well as wiping down any items you bring into the house with a disinfectant, don’t forget to give the same treatment to all those unexpected surfaces in your home that you touch a hundred times a day.
Without even realizing, every time you touch these high-traffic hotspots, your hands could be unknowingly picking up all those viral particles again that you just scrubbed off with your newfound handwashing dedication.
While you might be looking around at every surface of your house and imagining that you’ll be scrubbing all day like Cinderella was before her dashing prince came to whisk her away to the ball… Don’t get neurotic about it.
Have a think about what you touch on the average day in your house, and focus on these essential spots to clean and disinfect daily. It only takes a few minutes, we promise. Here’s what we’re hitting with the disinfectant spray on the regular:
- Doorknobs, light switches and drawer pulls
- Faucet knobs and toilet flush levers
- Cosmetics bottles and toothpaste tubes
- Handles of your toiletries like your hairbrush, toothbrush, hair combs and makeup brushes
- Refrigerator handles, oven knobs and small kitchen appliances
- Computer keypad and mouse
- TV Remote
- Car door handles, steering wheel, and gear shifter
- Keys
- Your home office desk, lamp and pens
- The pump on your hand soap and dishwashing liquid dispenser
- And finally, your cell phone. Don’t go spraying it with the bleach spray, however. Your cell phone screen has a fingerprint-resistant oil repellent coating, and if you don’t have a screen protector, you could be degrading this protective coating with abrasive cleaning products and scratching your screen. Give your phone a wipe with 70% alcohol and a microfiber cloth, and avoid getting moisture in the charging ports.
The CDC recommends cleaning surfaces first with soap and water, and then following it up with a disinfectant. You can disinfect with diluted household bleach, 70% alcohol solution, or an EPA-registered household disinfectant (these usually state that they kill 99.99% of viruses and bacteria on the label). Always follow the directions on the label, as to achieve effective Coronavirus disinfecting, some of these cleaners are required to stay wet on the surface for several minutes. Check out the list of EPA-registered disinfectants here.
Be sure to (say it with us) wash your hands before and after any Coronavirus-related cleaning, and wear gloves if you managed to stock up on ‘em before they all sold out!
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Above all else, try and stay positive. We're all in this together, and each and every one of us can do our part to help flatten the curve, to protect ourselves and others. Take care of yourself, be vigilant with your cleaning, and let's focus on looking toward a healthy and happy future once all this is behind us. Attitude is everything, and we've got this.
Let's get through COVID-19 together!
~Health and happiness to you and your loved ones, from all of us here at Urbanbella.
xx (Don't panic...they're virtual kisses!)
