Cleaning up after a Cold or Flu

So is you live near me in Clearwater or Safety Harbor, Florida, you have seen the crazy weather, cold then hot,cold then colder. And lets face it when you live in Florida you become a bit of a wimp to the cold weather….All my staff are getting colds and flu…. My last blog talked about cleaning to prevent colds and flu, but what if it happens and someone gets the bug and you continue share the love, passing it around to each family member…. sound familiar? Well today we are going to talk about Cleaning up after colds and flu, to break the circle of sharing.

Clean the bedroom

Cleaning linens and towels after colds and flu

The first place to clean is the bedroom. Generally when someone is sick they stay in bed..they sweat  and sweat germs into the bed linens! Wash all bed linen in as hot as you can water and if you can, dry them in the dyer to kill any germs. Leave the mattress bare for a few hours and open the windows to air the room. Spray the mattress and pillows with Lysol to doubly kill the bugs. If you can put the pillows in the dryer on hot for 15 minutes this will also help to kill germs.

Collect all tissues and dispose of them in a sealed bag, disinfect the trash can and all the areas you may have touched, phones, television remotes, books, iPad… The evil bacteria and viruses can survive up to two days on hard materials!!

Clean the Bathroom

Clean the bathroom,making sure you get all the light switches, toilet handles, faucets. Wash all hand towels, bath towels, bathrobes, PJs that have been worn whilst you were sick, in hot water and dry in the dryer if you can.

Don’t forget that toothbrush.. A toothbrush is home to all sorts of bacteria and viruses. Plunge the toothbrush into boiling water for a minute, or soak it in alcohol-based mouthwash. Dentists recommend a new toothbrush every three months anyway, so when in doubt, throw it out.

Open the windows throughout the house, let the fresh air in.

Clean the kitchen

In the kitchen, disinfect all the surfaces, and again wash all dish towels. Disinfect you sponge by either washing it in the dish washer or putting it in a bowl of hot water and putting it in the microwave for 2 minutes.

Then be diligent about cleaning and disinfecting areas I mention in my last blog to keep it out of the house.