Expert advice on the germ hot spots at home we should be disinfecting more frequently
It’s hard to deny that we’ve all learnt a lot throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and one thing that’s been drilled into us is health and safety guidelines. And this doesn’t mean simply washing our hands. As restaurants, supermarkets and even parks are being regularly sanitised, we must also make sure to take care of our home. But how regularly should we be getting it deepcleaned? We ask the experts.
Babak Moghaddam, general manager at Champion Cleaners, which has had an almost 50 per cent increase in requests for sanitisation services since the pandemic began, says: “It depends on how well our homes are disciplined to keep germs out,” he says. “The main purpose of sanitisation is to disinfect soft surfaces, such as carpets, upholstery and curtains, because once general sanitisation is done, hard surfaces, such as countertops and flooring, can be kept sanitised with domestic agents added to the routine mopping.”
As a general rule of thumb, he says: “To be on the safe side, it would be ideal to sanitise the home at least once a month and to be quite disciplined with a regular routine sanitisation of hard tops at least every two days.”
Diksha Ahuja, a spokesperson for Zoflora, maker of multipurpose cleaning products that claim to kill 99.9 per cent of bacteria and viruses, echoes this sentiment. She says choosing what needs to be sanitised regularly in the home depends on how often you use certain areas. “Taps can harbour more than 6,000 bacteria per square inch and the kitchen sink may be home to over 2,700 bacteria per square inch, so these items need a quick once over with disinfectant [daily],” she says.
“Anywhere that sees food preparation must be disinfected daily, such as kitchen counters. Also fridge handles, which can often get missed.” Moghaddam says all personal items such as mobile phones, keys and wallets should be sanitised as soon as you enter the house. “We would also recommend routine sanitisation of doorknobs, light switches and TV remotes. Hard surface disinfection should be carried out at least every two days if possible.”
Ahuja says you’ll want to hit germ hot spots such as desks, remote controls, keyboards, mobile phones, cupboard doors and bins weekly. “If you have pets, floors are always
Choosing what needs to be sanitised regularly depends on how often you use certain areas
in need of a sweep or vacuum, and mop, at least once a week.” You can get away with cleaning fridges, washing machines and showerheads once a month, she says.
As for how important this is from a medical point of view, Dr Salvin George, a specialist in internal medicine at Medcare Hospital in Al Sada, says there is no official data on home sanitisation guidelines, but basic precautions are undeniably important, particularly during a pandemic.
“Self-hygiene should be practised, especially after going out and coming home. Disposal of shoes, which should be left outside the home, disposal of masks, sanitisation of hands … in the case of healthcare workers, they must have a shower after reaching home, and before meeting or greeting their family members.”
Regular sanitisation of your home, he says, is especially beneficial to avoid instances of allergy-related conditions. Studies have shown that dust mite allergies have increased since the Covid-19 outbreak as more people have been working from home. However, George says we must be careful to use only government-recommended chemicals during sanitisation.
“Avoid using corrosive and volatile compounds. Chemicals recommended by Dubai Municipality usually contain a diluted solution of hypochlorite, which is safe to be used inside homes and also for cleaning utensils. Hiring a professional company bearing the [municipality] licence is also important.”