The Truth About Coronavirus and Covid Cleaning

At the beginning of this year, we were greeted with headlines and reports of a global health crisis that led to moments of spiraling rationality which prompted stockpiles of toilet paper, bottled water, and non-perishables. In this early period of chaos that has since become our world’s “new normal” many people were quick to discover a sudden lack of cleaning products on the shelves of stores. This unexpected shortage of basic Covid cleaning tools is cause for stress under normal circumstances, but during a growing pandemic that stress was amplified with fears of not being able to adequately protect your family and yourself from an invisible threat. Many questions of what the best ways to prevent the virus started flying and lots of those questions are still out there. We here at Three North Clean are ( our whole cleaning team) here to help you find the best cleaning solutions for you at any time, and in 2020, Covid cleaning is what we are obsessed about.

While the claim of Clorox sprays and Lysol wipes rate of bacteria-killing was an immediate draw for many people in search of an effective way of killing potential virus-carrying bacteria, they very quickly became and continue to be an elusive product to come across in your local supermarket. In an effort to alleviate some of the stress related to finding equal or comparable alternatives to these products we will be discussing various products that will be easier to come across, natural alternatives and how they compare in effectiveness, non-product based ways to ensure a clean home, and the history of how health crisis’ of the past have changed home design in ways that we can learn from for fighting the virus’ of today. With this information, we hope to provide you with the tools that best suit you and your lifestyle for health and wellness through the pandemic as well as maintaining it for preventative care in the future.

SAFETY ALERT: Kick Covid and Coronavirus in the butt, this is how you do Covid cleaning

The branded names mentioned above like Clorox and Lysol provide a sense of comfort because of familiarity; these are names you’ve seen in your home, on the shelves of stores, and in commercials with claims of enormous effective rates. And yes, they are as good as start to Covid cleaning solutions. This level of trust feels key when trying to do your best for your family, but the search for a familiar name led many people to pay hugely exaggerated prices on the secondary market. An alternative to this unnecessary spending (which we know is especially important during
this time of such economic uncertainty) is looking into smaller markets that import products from other countries. Many urban centers have Asian markets that will carry products equivalent to the western brands most North Americans know and trust. A recommendation of mine would be Vinda covid cleaning wipes, an antibacterial wipe with the same 99.9% effectiveness rate that Lysol touts but is also a product that didn’t experience the production shortage known to have happened to North American brands. Broadening your search for lesser-known Covid cleaning brands or products that achieve the same end result can save you time waiting on shipping, money from not having to pay secondary market prices, and allow you to keep your peace of mind knowing you have an equivalent product to keep your home safe and clean without delays.

Another alternative to classic brands is simply mixing your own cleaners. Playing with chemicals is a dangerous game that we do not recommend but simply diluting bleach to various concentrations allows you to create effective cleaners, with disinfection ability approved by the C.D.C (Centre for Disease Control), for an array of tasks around your home. This is a simple and cost-effective way to disinfect many surfaces in your home with only one product.

Ensuring the items we bring home from the grocery are free from dangerous bacteria is a new and daunting task. For metal cans in good condition, our recipe for disinfection is washing them in soapy, warm water followed by a rinse and a dip into a gallon of warm water with one-fifth of a cup of bleach. Allow to air dry and enjoy your canned goods without the fear of contamination. As for things in plastic packaging, wipe down the containers with the same bleach-to-water ratio as above and allow them to air dry. It is not recommended to use bleach or bleach-like cleaning products on porous surfaces such as cardboard or directly onto produce. When looking to disinfect other household surfaces such as countertops, doorknobs, light switches, or other surfaces that won’t absorb water use a solution of one-third a cup of bleach for every one gallon of water. Some other important things to consider when using bleach to disinfect things in your home: Always wear protective equipment such as rubber gloves Ensure airflow, such as using fans or opening windows Check to make sure your bleach has not expired Use a product that contains 5.25-8.25% sodium hypochlorite (this is the active ingredient in bleach). If the percentage is not specified, chose another product.

Allow bleach and water solution to sit on surfaces for a minimum of one minute before wiping to ensure the product has had enough time to disinfect.

Clear the surface of any dirt or debris before spraying or wiping with bleach solution. For the most effective clean, we recommend doing a dry wipe to remove crumbs and dust, washing with soap and warm water, then spraying the surface with your diluted bleach solution and allowing it to sit for one minute before completing a final wipe with water to remove any residual chemicals. The main selling point of all of the cleaners mentioned is their high rate of effectiveness; something at the top of most people’s minds since we’ve all begun to take action against the spread of COVID-19. While this is a massively important part of choosing the best cleaner for your home, another imperative aspect in knowing what will work best for you is being educated on the negative attributes of what you use. Alongside the high rates of germ-killing power, are potential hazards for yourself, your pets and the environment. The corrosive properties of chlorine bleach allow it to damage soft tissue such as eyes, skin, nasal, and throat passages in both humans and animals. While lots of these ill-effects can be mitigated with proper equipment usages such as rubber gloves and ensuring there is adequate airflow such as open windows and fans, the risk of agitation is still there and increases with the presence of children and pets or others who do not know the proper handling of a material with such a potential for damage. As for the environment, the dumping of drainage water with bleach present has been known to cause cancer in wildlife as well as damage ecosystems by killing all of the good forms of bacteria necessary for plant and marine life to thrive. This damage also extends to mammals who drink from contaminated sources.

While the dangers of bleach use are not something to dismiss while Covid cleaning, the decision of deciding how high to rank the importance of negative factors is a personal one that should be weighed alongside the pros and be given special consideration during a pandemic.

Something that has been gaining traction in the world of cleaning products during the need for Covid Cleaning is natural cleaners- and not just vinegar for windows or essential oils as air fresheners either. Many of us are familiar with the comfort of the big-name chemicals but aren’t on board with the dangers we spoke about earlier such as the long-term personal and environmental effects these chemicals can have. Some good news is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published research on the viability of something called Thymol that has the same 99.9% effectiveness rate that created Lysol wipes trustworthy status in the western psyche. Thymol is an aspect of the thyme plant we all know and love for its scent and flavor that has also made its way into many skin care products in recent years for its antibacterial properties without being harsh for sensitive skin. Those antibacterial properties are gentle enough for use on the face, but studies were done by the EPA also show it’s strong enough for use as a medical disinfectant, a fungicide, and virucide (the key to what we’re looking for today). As for the environment, the same study states that Thymol is known to naturally degrade in normal biological processes as well as posing no known risk to human, animal, or plant life. The Canadian government has approved this seemingly wonder extract to be effective against Covid-19 specifically, so if you’re willing to go for a new kid on the grocery store shelf consider trying a cleaning option such as the Seventh Generation* cleaning wipes, which have thymol as their active ingredient, boast the same 99.9% effectiveness rate as harsher chemicals, and come without the guilt and concern of hazardous corrosive agents hanging around you, your family, or the environment.

It is easy to see why cleaning products play a key role in protecting your home from The Coronavirus but another line of defense lies in some quick and easy home routines as well as some longer-term strategies that can help ensure a clean home not just visually, but on a bacterial level as well. All of the talk in the world about natural versus non-natural cleaning agents and percentages of effectiveness will only take you so far. Another important factor in keeping your home clean is identifying the areas that these products need to be used on and how you’re going to clean all of these surfaces. A mental “walk-through” of your routine upon entering your house can be a great place to start.

What did you touch while you were out? Did you sanitize your hands and credit card after it touched the same payment pad that everyone else’s cards touched? How many people came in contact with the products you brought home?

This line of thinking can quickly become overwhelming, but rather than creating a vast (and what could easily become semi-ridiculous) cleaning list for every time you leave and bring something new into your home, it could serve you well to make a slightly more pared-down but more methodical checklist. Aside from continually sanitizing your high touchpoints such as doorknobs, light switches, cellphone, and countertops think of what you’re not going to touch again after entering your home. Wiping down all of your keys every time you come and go along with all of the other increased cleaning measures only adds to the stress of pandemic cleaning when you could simply commit to not touching items such as your purse, wallet, or outdoor specific clothing after leaving them in a designated space after entering your home. Decreasing the mental load of all the individual items you need to keep sanitized can help you to focus on doing a great job cleaning the other things around your home you need regularly. Each person’s cleaning routine will be different depending on what your home life looks like. The most important thing is to identify your high-touch zones, such as the bathroom or eating area, where bodily fluids are most at risk for spreading and then make a strategic plan for these spaces that will keep you and your family safe from outside germs as well as each other.

Pandemics of the past such as the Spanish Flu in 1918 or Tuberculosis that
gripped America from 1895-1954 and still affects many around the world have led to a lot of home design innovation. Changes in design based on cleanliness have frequently been ignored in more modern homes for design or cost-prohibitive measures but now may be the time to revisit these ideas when searching for a new place to live or starting a renovation.

A fairly simple way to rid your home of bacteria that causes germs is some fresh air and sunshine. Researchers at the University of Oregon proved what Florence Nightingale had been onto (long before 2018 when the research was published) with the idea that it would be beneficial for hospitals to be built to let daylight in. The study found that opening your blinds and letting the sunshine in has almost the same level of germ-killing power as using UV light to sanitize, a well-known and often used form of killing bacteria in water. So next time you’re looking to move, favor a place with a large amount of natural light and the ability to open the windows. Some examples of pandemic design would include non-porous counter surfaces, white subway tile backsplash for the kitchen, a powder room or half-bath at the entryway of the home, as well as radiators designed to overheat. All of these ideas were not created equally, but all were designed to promote not just the appearance of cleanliness in the home but increase ease of cleaning to help people maintain their homes during and following health crisis’.

Subway tile and avoiding wooden countertops are fairly self-explanatory; they allow for easy identification of mess as well as the ability to sanitize the surfaces. The innovation of a half bath upon entry was put in place with ice and milk delivery men in mind as a place to wash before entering your home following being in potentially infected people’s homes. While most of us no longer rely on ice delivery to keep our groceries cold it’s still very beneficial to have a bathroom easily available for people entering your home who can wash up before coming into the main living space. On the less useful for modern life end of the spectrum would be a radiator designed to heat the apartment or home on the coldest day of the year with all of the windows open to allow
for adequate sunlight and fresh air to flow in. A more energy-efficient model of this would be upgrading your living space with an air filtration system so that you don’t need to keep all of your windows open in below-freezing temperatures. Obviously, these strategies for Covid cleaning mentioned are not accessible to everyone but are simply here to suggest some ways in which you can use a health and germ-conscious thought process for future home design decisions.