This pandemic has made the need to sanitize the surfaces in our homes and offices more important than ever, but did you know there’s a right way and a wrong way to sanitize your surfaces? You might think you’d be safe if you just wipe down your counter with bleach, but you’d be wrong. Instead, you need to use this 3-step process to make sure your surfaces are truly sanitized.
Clean Your Surface Before Applying Your Sanitizer
Whether you use bleach or vinegar (NEVER use the two together!) or something else, it’s not enough to sanitize the surface on its own, so make sure you clean the surface first, either with soap and water or an all-purpose cleaner. The cleaner you can get the surface, the more effective your sanitizer will be at killing the microscopic bacteria that are left.
Dwell Time
A common mistake I see people making is wiping down their surfaces with a disinfectant and thinking they’re done. Take another look at the directions on the bottle because every disinfectant will list the dwell time, which is the time you have to let the disinfectant sit on the surface before you wipe it down. Clorox and Lysol require about 60-90 seconds before the surface is ready to be wiped down, but if you’re using a non-toxic sanitizer, it will likely have a much longer dwell time, usually 5-10 minutes.
Since everyone is worried about this virus living on their surfaces and posing a threat to their health, it’s important to make sure we all understand the proper way to sanitize the spaces where we live and work. If you wipe off your disinfectant before it has a chance to work, you leave yourself vulnerable to bacteria and viruses that could still be living on your surfaces.
Use Plenty of Towels
Using the same towel (or the same side of a towel) to wipe down multiple surfaces doesn’t really sanitize your surfaces, it just moves the bacteria around. To make sure all your surfaces are truly disinfected you need to use the four-fold method: fold your towel twice so you’re using one quarter of the surface of one side of the towel. Wipe down one surface, flip the towel over, and wipe down another surface. Unfold the towel once (not all the way) and repeat with the other half of that surface of the towel. Then unfold the towel all the way, refold it the same way, but in the opposite direction so you’re using the clean side and repeat the process with that side of the towel. Once you’ve wiped down eight surfaces with one towel, throw it in the hamper and start with another towel.
If you’re using disinfectant wipes, use each side of each wipe on one surface, then toss it and move onto the next wipe.
If you want the peace of mind that comes with having a Crystal Klear home without having to lift a finger, reach out now for a free consultation so we can make your place sparkle.
