Ways of Disinfecting your Home and Office
Chlorine, Chlorine Powder or Clorox
Almost every household have a bottle of Clorox under their kitchen sink, and some uses liquid or powdered chlorine for cleaning homes and pools. In it’s purest form, it is a very good chemical disinfectant, so following the proper water to chlorine ratio should be considered. Most experts and professionals advise that a 1:100 dilution is already okay to kill bacteria and viruses without doing harm to you. That’s 5mL or a spoonful of Cholorox on a 500mL water bottle. You can wipe down almost all surfaces (except surfaces of plates and utensils to avoid ingestion) and you can spray it around your home and garden. The only downside using this is the odor that it leaves. Some prefer the odor but most find it offensive, and not to mention that Chlorine is a mild to medium irritant depending on the concentration.Need something cleaned?
Alcohol (Isopropyl or Ethyl)
This is also a very common household item that can be easily used to disinfect surfaces. Be it 30% or 70%, Isopropyl or Ethyl, as long as it is not the ones you use as beverage, then you can definitely use it. Smell-wise, this is much more appealing compared to chlorine, and definitely less irritating on the skin. But for those who are cleaning mavericks out there, never combine alcohol and chlorine as it will create a poisonous gas that is nearly lethal to humans and animals. The downside of using alcohol is its cost and volatility (dries up fast and may catch fire). You can use too much of it if you are running on a budget, and you can’t simply spray it around the house as it dries up fast. Not to mention how it affects certain surfaces like varnished wood and laminated floors and walls.
Commercial Liquid Disinfectant
An occassional household that some of us use, liquid disinfectants (commercial names like Lysol or PineSol) are also good in cleaning your homes and offices. Most liquid disinfectants use Benzalkonium Chloride as an active ingredient, one of the things that most hospitals look for when looking for a good disinfectant. Similar to Chlorine, there are recommended dilution for each type of liquid disinfectant to economically clean your place. After mixing the concentrated form with water, you could use it to wipe or mop surfaces. Some brands also come in spray bottles but this may come out more expensive than your regular concentrated version when it comes to using it. Commercial liquid disinfectants are as effective as chlorine and much better smelling, however, it may cost you more.
BEST WAY TO DISINFECT YOUR PLACE?
Since our homes are unique, there are no rule of thumb on what is the best way to do it, but what we do recommend is utilizing and combining different techniques, approaches and different cleaning solutions (except alcohol and chlorine) to achieve the level of sanitation we want. Here are some tips you could use:
- Start at the cleanest area to the most dirty (so you wouldn’t mistakenly spread the germs)
- Use alcohol for hands only
- Use diluted liquid disinfectants on surfaces (like tables, desks, walls, etc)
- Use chlorine on floors
- Use a different wash cloth (basahan/pamunas) for every room or area
- Use a spray bottle for a more effective dispersal of your cleaning solution
If you are not sure how exactly you can disinfect your home or office, you can always contact us for a more comprehensive disinfection service.
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