Other Areas in the House to Clean
Bathroom or toilet area
The next area that you should concentrate on sanitizing is the bathroom or your toilet area. Bathrooms are the perfect haven for germs and bacteria to thrive in and it’s one of the easiest places where fluids can splash.
Two places that germs often lurk are the toilet handle and the faucets. The reason for this that many people wipe and then touch the toilet handle followed by the faucets.
If you or someone else had feces on your hands – even a microscopic amount – then you’ve essentially created a playground for the Ebola virus and other harmful germs.
Floor area
Besides cleaning the toilet and sink, there’s another surface that you need to clean. The floor is an often overlooked area of the bathroom when it comes to sanitizing your home.
This is one area that you’ll want to scrub with a good disinfectant like bleach. Even a small spattering of urine on the floor that gets tracked into other rooms on the soles of your feet can create a problem for your family.
Bedroom
Your bedroom is one of your most private spaces. Since you spend hours sleeping, it’s easy to track contaminants in there. Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids.
So simple things like sneezing, coughing, a spontaneous bloody nose or middle of the night sudden vomiting in an area can make the entire room a potential hazard.
When you develop a bloody nose or vomit in your bedroom, it splatters. This means multiple surfaces – including your linens – have now become a new surface where Ebola can rest.
Since the Ebola virus can have similar symptoms to the common cold and the flu, it’s important that you treat bodily fluids with care until you know for certain that you or a loved one is not infected.
For linens and sheets, follow the care instructions printed on the label. These instructions usually involve using a washing machine to clean these items. But you’ll want to use some kind of disinfectant.
Use disposable bed clothing
Better yet – if you suspect someone might have Ebola, is to use disposable bed clothing and cover the mattress with plastic. Make sure you clean the surfaces in the bedroom where there the virus might end up such as knobs on bedside tables, the flooring and pillows.
One of the most highly trafficked areas is the living room or family room. These rooms contain sofas, futons, and other furniture that can hold onto surface germs.
When you or your loved ones are sick, you’re often on the couch for long periods of time, allowing germs to settle there. If your sofas and recliners are made of cloth, you have to disinfect them.
Sofa or recliner
To disinfect a cloth sofa or recliner, start by vacuuming the furniture to remove any dust or particles. Wipe down any metal or wood areas that aren’t covered by the cloth material with disinfectant wipes.
When cleaning the material, dampen the cloth with disinfectant cleaner – but don’t soak it. When you use too much water, it can cause mildew and mold to grow in the cushions.
Allow the couch to air dry. Prevention, if possible, is always the better way to go. So if your couch is clean, cover it with plastic to protect it. The plastic can be wiped down or thrown out and replaced if you think it’s been contaminated.
Like the living room, carpet is highly trafficked. It holds thousands of germs and should be cleaned frequently – especially when someone in the house is sick. You can buy a disinfectant for the flooring.
