How To Disinfect Your House From Top To Bottom After An Illness

We have never been more aware of how important it is to keep germ and virus free by washing our hands and trying to prevent illnesses from coming home with us. I never thought that I needed lessons on how to wash hands until the pandemic. Here I share how to disinfect your house from top to bottom easily.

The thing is, when we stick to these disinfecting routines it keeps us healthier overall even when dealing with routine illnesses like a cold or the flu. Before you get sick and even after the entire house has to be disinfected so that nobody else gets sick. 

In this article, we will go over exactly how to give your entire house the deep clean it needs to be disinfected after somebody is sick. 

Have the right supplies

Many regular cleaning supplies are not going to do the trick when it comes to killing germs and viruses. You need to bring out the big guns to really kill everything and prevent them from growing again. 

To disinfect you specifically need a disinfectant. The word itself tells you that it kills the germs, bacteria, viruses and even fungi that cause infections. One of the best disinfectants that work well and is also very cheap is bleach. In the right doses, it is perfectly healthy to clean surfaces and even clothing in it. 

All you need to do is dilute it in water before using it so it isn’t too strong, while still making sure that it is strong enough to work to kill the germs around. Make sure to use bleach that contains 5% to 9% sodium hypochlorite and then add about a third of a cup to a gallon of warm water. If you are using less water then use roughly 4 tablespoons per quart.

If you don’t trust yourself to mix this, then use cleaning products that contain bleach and are antibacterial and antiviral. 

Never mix cleaning products as this can cause a toxic fume that can send you to the hospital or worse. Anything with ammonia needs to be handled carefully and never mixed with other products. 

In the bedroom

The first thing to do is to wash all of the linens and sheets that the sick person was using in bed. Make sure the temperature is at least 60°C so it can kill the germs. If the water is not that hot then you can use a clothes dryer set at the highest temperature. A disinfecting detergent is also a must when cleaning your linens. 

Then, make sure to clean every surface with your bleach mix or disinfectant cleaner. All surfaces that would have been touched including ornaments, trophies etc need to be washed down thoroughly, including your glasses. Light switches and doorknobs are the most likely culprits. 

The kitchen

Hopefully, the sick person stuck to the area of the house where the bedroom and bathroom are so they didn’t contaminate other areas. However, if they did spend time in the kitchen then it needs to be deep cleaned. 

All utensils and plates that could have been contaminated need to be washed in a dishwasher with hot water. Then, every surface will have to be washed down with the bleach mixture.

Trash cans should be emptied and the bin itself should be hosed down and then washed with the bleach mixture. 

In the bathroom

The other room a sick person is going to be using quite a bit is the bathroom. And bathrooms already have plenty of germs. Of course, the toilet will need to have a good cleaning but don’t forget everything else the person would have touched. Towels, shower stalls and even the bathmat will all need to be washed and disinfected. 

Using paper towels for drying hands and face while sick is probably your best option. But in case they already used the ones that were for everybody, then it is time to throw those in with the laundry. 

The air around you

Unfortunately, once you have all the surfaces disinfected, germs floating around can land on them and start to grow again. You need to clean the air that is in the house. 

Open up all the windows and get some fans blowing toward the outside to get rid of the stale air. It is also a great idea to use air purifiers that are rated to remove very small microns that include viruses and bacteria from the air. Place a few around the house and it will help clear the air.