How to Properly Disinfect Your Home
With concerns about COVID 19, people are turning to disinfectants to protect their homes and families. However, improper use of disinfectants can cause more harm than good.
Early studies show that COVID 19 can live on surfaces for a long time: up to 4 hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard, and as long as 2-3 days on steel and plastics. (Source: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v1.full.pdf)
Disinfecting surfaces can be a fantastic tool in battling the virus following this easy guide.
Step 1: Choose a Disinfectant
Disinfectants come in many varieties and a lot of products claim to be disinfectants but are not. The first step in disinfecting your home is to select the right product. The EPA released an updated list of disinfectants that are appropriate for use against SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19. You can access this list here: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2
The list is absolutely daunting, so let’s go over some basics. First, do not deviate from the list. Many companies are trying to capitalize on the outbreak right now and wild, unfounded claims are rampant. We can address the list by section: Chlorine Bleach, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, and Quaternary ammonia are all active ingredients. You can sort the list by active ingredient to find one you like.
Chlorine bleach. Pros: inexpensive, readily available, effective even when diluted. Cons: bleaches colors from surfaces, toxic and corrosive, strong alkaline can irritate skin and eyes. Do not use concentrated: dilute to a 1:10 ratio with water.
Hydrogen peroxide. Pros: stable, short dwell time. Cons: comparatively expensive, corrosive, can damage or bleach surfaces, degrades in heat or sunlight. Many organic cleaners are hydrogen peroxide-based.
Alcohol. Pros: non-staining, non-irritating, readily available. Cons: super flammable, must be highly concentrated to be effective (60-90%).
Quaternary ammonia. Pros: very inexpensive, effective even when diluted, non-toxic, safe for most fabrics and surfaces. Cons: less power means longer dwell time.
For the sake of an example, we will choose a Quaternary ammonia (or “Quat”) together. Lysol Clean & Fresh Multi-Surface Cleaner has been our disinfectant of choice for a couple of years now. Mix according to the label or use a ready-to-use spray bottle. If you are mixing it yourself, use bottled water: hard water will inactivate the disinfectant.
So, do I take the Lysol, spray it everywhere, and wipe it straight up? While this may be your gut instinct, this will certainly not disinfect the surface. Most disinfectants are inactivated by organic matter. Food spills, dirt, dust, bodily fluids, and just about everything in your home that is “dirty” is organic matter. The second step of using a disinfectant is to clean first.
Step 2. Clean First
Use the mild detergent you are accustomed to using for each surface. Dish soap for your sink, stone cleaner for granite counters, tub cleaner for your acrylic tub, and so on. Once you are done cleaning, you may disinfect.
Pro Tip: Test your disinfectant on a small, inconspicuous area of each type of surface first. This will prevent damage.
Step 3: Disinfect & Dwell
The EPA recommends a dwell time of three minutes for the Lysol spray. That means you spray it on thickly enough that it stays wet the whole time, wait three minutes, and wipe it up. Wipe with a clean microfiber cloth: cotton cloths are organic matter, which will deactivate the disinfectant.
While counters, toilets, tubs, and sinks may be the most obvious areas, it is very important to focus on touch points during an outbreak. Light switches, door handles, remotes, and electronics, are prime examples of things that your family touches most. Ensure that you are also disinfecting these.
So there you have it. Following these easy steps, you can effectively disinfect your home.
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Amber Starling is the first Certified House Cleaning Technician in the state of Kansas. She is a registrant in good standing with the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) and a member of the Association of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI) and ISSA—The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association. She owns the local cleaning company, Good Witch Cleaning Services. For more cleaning tips, visit their Facebook page at https://facebook.com/goodwitchcleaning