The amount of time that coronavirus lasts on a surface depends on the material. It can live for several hours to several days. Keeping surfaces clean inside the home is important. Here are a few important tips for disinfecting your senior's home - and what not to do.
Use an EPA Approved Disinfectant
Make sure the cleaning product you use has an ingredient that is on the EPA's list of disinfectants that kill SARS-CoV-2. The list of ingredients is long and includes ingredients like sodium chlorite, sodium hypochlorite, and quaternary ammonium.
These cleaners are among the recommended ones for cleaning. Use Lysol Laundry Sanitizer on fabrics in the laundry. Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner and Bleach or Lysol Clean and Fresh Multi-Surface Cleaner are good on hard surfaces.
If all else fails, make your own cleaning product with a gallon of cool water and 1/3 cup bleach. You can pour it into a spray bottle or cut a roll of heavy-duty paper towels in half and soak them with the bleach solution. Have your parents use those cleaners.
Clean With Soap First
If a surface is dirty, you need to clean the dirt with warm water and soap first. After cleaning the dirt, you should go back over the surface with a disinfectant spray.
Check the Expiration Date
Check the expiration date of the cleaning product. If the cleaning product has expired, it's not going to effectively kill the virus. You need to get new cleaners or make their own.
Use a Liberal Amount
If you're used to using less in order to make products last, don't do that. Saturate a surface with the spray and let it sit for a few minutes. Wipe away the excess and let the remainder air dry.
Wipe Down Everything
It's easy to forget to sanitize items in the home like light switches, door locks, small appliance controls, and remotes. They need to be sanitized. When you're cleaning, you should walk through your senior parent's home using their usual routines. What do they touch? Those items need to be cleaned.
You should think of the cloth items they touch. The arms of the sofa should be disinfected. A bleach spray will fade the fabric, but there are fabric-safe disinfectants like Tide Antibacterial Fabric Spray.
Can your parents effectively clean their home? They may not be able to do enough to keep their home clean and sanitized, and you may not always be able to be there to clean. In uncertain times like these, with shelter-in-place orders and children home from school, it can be difficult for family caregivers to provide the level of care that they have been.
Elderly care providers can come to your senior's home and help ensure that everything has been disinfected, as well as provide companionship and meal preparation during this difficult time. Consider bringing in elderly care providers to help your senior loved one get through a quarantine situation safely, and beyond.
If you are considering hiring elderly care in Huntsville, UT, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Seniors Helping Seniors of Ogden, UT. Call today 801-821-4535.