Cleaning and disinfecting of your home

How to clean and disinfect surfaces? 

Cleaning and disinfecting our hands is not very effective if the surrounding surfaces are covered in bacteria and viruses.

Therefore, it is recommended to start by identifying areas at risk, such as surfaces that are touched frequently.

Door handles, stair railings, printers, mobile phones, computer keyboards, and mice…

All these surfaces are conducive to the proliferation of pathogenic germs. It is therefore imperative to clean and disinfect them very often.

Get into the habit of regularly wiping the touch points with surface disinfectant wipes, such as when waiting at the coffee machine or printer.

Screens and certain surfaces must be cleaned differently, particularly touch screens which often have a special coating.

For screens, we recommend using AF’s anti-bac screen sanitizing wipes. Without alcohol, they kill up to 99.999% of bacteria and viruses tested. These high-quality wipes made from paper, pre-impregnated, and fully recyclable allow screens to be cleaned without damaging them.

Both types of disinfectant wipes have a contact time of 30 seconds, which means that 30 seconds of humidity is enough to eliminate bacteria.

And if you’re on the go a lot, the Multi-Surface Wipes Bundle is for you!

Professional cleaning and disinfecting your home is essential to keep it as clean as possible and free of disease-causing bacteria and viruses. The following guidelines are good practices to adopt in all circumstances.

Use disinfectant

Routine Cleaning and disinfecting of your home removes sand, dust, greasy stains and other surface dirt; but simple cleaning with soap or detergent cannot destroy harmful bacteria or viruses. To do this, you need a disinfectant.

What product should we use?

The easiest and fastest way to clean and disinfect your home is to use a product that combines these two steps. There are many products that contain cleaning and disinfecting agents.

The products chosen must contain a sufficient concentration of the products below to destroy 99.99% of bacteria and viruses harmful to humans:

• Sodium hypochlorite;
• Quaternary ammonium;
• Hydrogen peroxide.

Before using a product, read its label to check:

• Whether there is an identification number;
• If identified as a virucide.

Follow the instructions given on the label.

Instead of using a product that contains cleaning and disinfecting agents, you can follow these two steps:

1. Clean surfaces with soap or detergent.
2. Then apply a disinfectant product to the places where bacteria and viruses are most frequently found.

Another way to disinfect is to use a bleach solution.

Preparing a Cleaning and disinfecting agents

A simple way to make a bleach-based disinfectant solution is to mix 1 part bleach to 50 parts water. For example, 20ml of bleach in 1000ml of water.

It is best to prepare a solution with the disinfectant, dip your cloth or sponge in the solution, then wipe down the surfaces to be disinfected.

Do not mix cleaners and disinfectants.

This can give rise to undesirable chemical reactions. For example, mixing vinegar with bleach results in the formation of chlorine gas, which can be fatal.

Consult Health Australia’s List of disinfectants for use against COVID-19.

Wearing gloves

• Always wear rubber gloves when handling disinfectants.
• It is important to wash your hands as soon as you remove your gloves.
• Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces should be done with disposable gloves.
• Discard the gloves after each professional cleaning.
• If you use reusable gloves:
  • use them only for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces against COVID-19;
  • They cannot be used for anything else.

What should be disinfected?

In general, people regularly clean their house. To prevent the spread of respiratory infections, add a disinfection step to your usual cleaning and disinfection unless you are already using a product that contains cleaning and disinfection agents.

Pay special attention to the places where bacteria and viruses are most often found.

Cleaning and disinfecting regularly:

• sinks;
• toilet;
• the showers;
• bathtubs;
• washing machines.

Also clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that people touch often, including:

• kitchen counters;
• bathroom counters;
• handrails;
• bedside tables;
• toys;
• door handles;
• the phones;
• the switches;
• soap dispensers;
• toilet flushes;
• paper towel dispensers;
• computer mice and keyboards;
• remote controls and other electronic equipment;
• kitchen, living room, and side tables.

Frequently disinfect equipment or devices that are often touched or handled:

• If you have a sick family member;
• if you engage in messy tasks (e.g. preparing and cooking a turkey).

You should also clean and disinfect your home more often:

• if you have small children;
• if you have a job in which you are in contact with many people who could be sick (eg a doctor’s office);
• if you regularly work with the public.

Cleaning and disinfecting Tips

• If in doubt, disinfect.
• Use a broom or vacuum cleaner to remove dust and dirt from floors and stairs.
• Clean floors and stairs with a damp mop; disinfect floors regularly.
• Clean the mop after each use. Following a clean water rinse, allow it to dry.
• Disinfect commonly used devices and equipment often, or when they are obviously dirty.
• Regularly clean and disinfect other appliances and furniture, or other equipment.
• Disinfect trash cans.

Protect your property

Spraying directly onto appliances or expensive furniture or appliances (like computers) may damage them.

• Follow the manufacturer’s maintenance (cleaning and disinfection) instructions.
• Washable cases can be a good choice for protecting electronic devices.

If not recommended by the manufacturer, disinfect touch screens with alcohol wipes or a spray solution containing at least 60% alcohol.

Be sure to dry surfaces thoroughly to avoid the buildup of liquids. Some products can damage surfaces. If in doubt, seek advice from a cleaning product supplier.

Other precautions to take if someone in your household is sick

• Put a plastic bag in the garbage that the sick person uses so as not to touch the contents directly. Ideally, you should use a trash can whose lid opens with a pedal; this way you won’t have to touch it when you throw trash in it or remove the bag.
• At least once a day, clean and disinfect door handles, light switches and other hard surfaces with which the patient has come into contact; you will thus prevent the transmission of the disease to other people in the house.
• If possible, patients should stay in a room reserved for them and to which no one else has access.
• When handling dirty laundry, avoid moving it around too much. This will limit the risk of spreading the virus in the air. Wash clothes in the hottest water possible and dry them completely. Clean and sanitize dirty laundry baskets or use a disposable or washable laundry bag.
• Always wash your hands well with soap and water for 20 seconds after removing your gloves or touching a sick person, if applicable.