How to Protect Your Home From COVID-19
As an airborne virus, COVID-19 can easily spread indoors and outdoors, to everyone and anyone. It’s not enough to simply stay inside and reduce going out, as viruses can be brought into the home. It’s important to observe proper hygiene and sanitation and adhere to safety protocols, even in your own home, to reduce the risk of virus transmission.
This doesn’t only apply specifically to COVID-19, but also for other illness-causing viruses that can weaken the immune system and make the body vulnerable to disease.
Here’s how you can protect your home from COVID-19 and other airborne viruses.
How to Keep Your Home Safe From Coronavirus
1. Wash Your Hands Regularly
Even if you’re staying indoors, it’s still important to frequently wash your hands. Always wash with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds, especially if you’re handling objects that came from outside, such as groceries or delivered food and packages.
Minimize touching portions of the body that are vulnerable to infection, such as your eyes, nose, and mouth. If handwashing is not always available to you, keep nearby a bottle of alcohol or hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content to sanitize your hands.
Remember that you can easily stop spreading germs inside your home with 20 seconds of scrubbing.
2. Observe Social Distancing If You Have Guests
If it's necessary to have an in-person meeting or gathering at home, it’s highly advised to limit the number of attendees and strictly implement safety precautions. People who do not live in the same household as you are exposed to people outside of your circle, so they can be carriers that may bring the virus into your home.
Be mindful that COVID-19 symptoms can take a few days to manifest. Some people may even be asymptomatic, so they can unknowingly carry the virus.
When planning to have guests over, lay down some ground rules to ensure that everyone is informed and ready to comply when they arrive. Agree on a headcount and prepare the meeting area such that there’s ample space for social distancing. Ideally, maintain a minimum of six feet between each other. Avoid sharing food, utensils, and other items.
When having guests over, request everyone to wear face masks, particularly in shared spaces. Make sure to wear the face mask correctly, covering your nose and mouth and secured under the chin and against the sides of the face.
3. Disinfect Frequently Touched Surfaces Regularly
According to Dr. Kristin Englund, the infectious disease specialist at Cleveland Clinic, the COVID-19 virus can stay on surfaces for hours or even days, but there’s little known evidence of it causing people to contract the disease.
Nevertheless, the CDC advises the frequent sanitation of high-touch surfaces, particularly those in common spaces in the home, to stymie the growth and transmission of viruses. Examples of high-touch objects are tables and chairs, door handles, handrails, light switches, mobile devices and gadgets, and toys.
The CDC recommends cleaning surfaces with soap or detergent mixed with water, followed by a disinfectant. A diluted bleach solution or cleaning solution with at least 70% alcohol content are good alternatives. Some disinfectants are more effective when they are left wet and should not be wiped off immediately, so read the product instructions carefully and double-check that it has not expired.
4. Increase Air Ventilation
Proper air ventilation helps minimize contaminants in the air. The CDC recommends that you do this in conjunction with other health and hygiene best practices. The simplest way to improve airflow indoors is by opening windows, but only if your surroundings don’t pose a health risk.
Make use of fans to keep the air moving inside your house. If your air conditioner or HVAC system has outdoor air vents, keep them open.
If you live in an area with relatively clean air, maximize its benefits by naturally ventilating your home. Utilize cross-ventilation, which entails opening doors or windows on opposite sides of the house to have fresh air flowing through. You can combine the usage of indoor fans and natural ventilation to increase airflow.
5. Improve Air Quality with an Air Purifier
If you’re unable to ventilate your home or simply want to double down on your health and safety measures, an air purifier can greatly help in enhancing the quality of air inside your home. Air purifiers, also known as portable air cleaners, are typically used to reduce airborne pollutants and contaminants in an enclosed space.
Choose a trusted air purifier that makes use of a combination of filters for maximum air filtration and cleaning, like Sans. Our air purifier functions using four layers of protection. It starts with the pre-filter, which traps bigger pollutants like hair and dust.
The HEPA 13 filter traps major irritants and does the bulk of the dirty work. It’s responsible for catching viruses, bacteria, and allergens, such as pollen, dander, dust mites, and mold spores.
Next up, the activated carbon filter targets foul and harmful gases. Finally, UV-C light sterilization neutralizes pathogens and helps keep the filters clean.
When used alongside other best practices, air purification can be a big help in reducing the spreading and transmission of viruses and disease.
Spurred to action to combat COVID-19, Sans is on a mission to help improve your health and wellness by providing clean air in homes and enclosed spaces. The Sans air purifier delivers top-of-the-line purification with an expansive coverage area of 780 square feet and boasts the quietest-in-class fan.
Keep your home clean and safe. Shop with Sans today.