During these uncertain times, it’s more important than ever to practice healthy hygiene habits at home. This will decrease your chances of contracting the coronavirus and teach your children how to keep shared space safe and clean. While social distancing is important to reduce the amount the virus can spread, it’s nearly impossible to practice within the home. For that reason, it’s more important than ever to keep your home surfaces clean and germ-free.
Instead of cleaning up by yourself, actively involve your children in the process. Explain to them how germs spread and the importance of healthy hygiene habits (this YouTube video offers a great kid-friendly explanation). Explain to them how Clorox wipes and other disinfectants help, and how important it is to keep your home clean to prevent the spread of all viruses, especially the coronavirus.
One great tactic for home hygiene is cleaning the knobs in the following high traffic areas of your home:
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Door knobs
This includes bathroom door knobs, bedroom door knobs, and the front and back door knobs to your home. Door knobs are a hotbed for germs since they’re touched often, and bathroom door knobs are often touched before hand washing. In addition to cleaning these multiple times daily, see if you can find a way to open doors without using your hands. For example, try leaving doors slightly ajar and pushing open with your body, or using a paper towel to touch the handle instead of touching directly with your hands.
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Oven knobs
Oven knobs are important to keep clean because they’re used while preparing food, so germs can then easily move to other members of the family. In addition to the oven knobs themselves, make sure to clean the oven door handle. While you’re at it, go ahead and wipe down frequently touched areas in the kitchen like the coffee maker and the microwave to promote healthy hygiene around the entirety of this high traffic area.
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Car door handles
While not as urgent as some other knobs, since you’re likely not driving as often as usual, it’s still important to clean car door handles. The coronavirus can live on surfaces for several days, so make sure you remember to clean even if you haven’t driven in awhile. This includes inside and outside car door handles as well as buttons on the dashboard like the radio and temperature control buttons. It’s a great idea to keep both Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer in your car for quick cleaning on the go.
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Dresser drawer knobs
It’s impossible to avoid touching dresser drawer knobs–after all, you’ve got to get dressed! For easy cleaning, put wipes on the top of as many dressers in the home as you can, and remind your children to wipe down the knobs at least once a day, and preferably before every time they touch them. Dresser drawer knobs are tricky because people don’t usually think of these surfaces as germ-covered and are less likely to wash their hands after touching them.
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Kitchen cabinet knobs
Just like with oven knobs, healthy hygiene in the kitchen is essential to the protection of your entire family. Clean your kitchen cabinet knobs several times each day; a great way to remember is to do a quick cleaning of all kitchen knobs before you start meal preparation.
Hygiene, health, and the coronavirus
While you’re practicing these healthy hygiene habits at home, remember to take care of your mental health too–don’t panic! Calmly and patiently involve your children and explain the science behind your cleaning and hygiene decisions, even incorporating these activities as part of their daily schedules during school closures. This is a great teachable moment in the time of social distancing and will reduce your chances of coronavirus infection. We know it’s tough–take care out there!
