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My first post! I just arrived yesterday to check on a family member who lives across the country, and long story short, it's not good. She went to ER today, pretty certain with c diff, and I need to clean/disinfect while she's gone. Doing the whole house is not feasible -- massive clutter. Can anyone tell me, other than bathroom, bed, and laundry, what is absolutely critical? I did get laundry sanitizer and bleach and am going to town on it. Thank you! PS -- tips on cleaning leather chair would be helpful too.

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Replace things that are in the bathroom that you can, like her toothbrush. Wipe down everything she might have touched (eyeglasses, brushes, pill bottles, etc). Throw out all 'old' mops, cleaning rags, etc., that she might have used in the bathroom & house. Clean all the handles, switches, knobs etc throughout the house. If the bed is ok it might not hurt to get a mattress cover anyway. Does she drive? Wipe down the car handle & steering wheel. Kitchen: Run her silverware, glasses, utensils, and dishes through the washer along with anything else you think she was handling a lot. Wash the dishtowels. Consider putting paper towels in the bathroom and kitchen if hygiene is an issue, rather than having her use cloth towels. For electronics, like phones, mouses, keyboards, etc., dampen a cloth with your 9:1 water/bleach solution and wipe them down. They should be slightly damp but not wet. Let them air dry and then you can buff any haze off of them with a 50:50 water/alcohol dampened cloth. If she has forced air heat/AC then replace the filters (Amazon has good prices). Consider if there's a need to clean the carpet. The leather--that's a tough one. Maybe try to do a couple of passes with the bleach solution where you'll just dampen a test spot and let it dry a few times to see how it does? Go get 'em!
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HollyIvy Jan 2022
Great list, thanks!! Part of the issue is a second person in her household who is not ill and thinks it's no big deal -- and could possibly spread germs from one place to another. But I made good progress today.
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The kitchen would be a good spot to disinfect, too. Is your LO able to wash and sanitize after using things in their house? Strangely enough, I remember plants as being a spreader of c-diff from back when my grandmother had it. I think that's because it can live in soil for a long time.
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HollyIvy Jan 2022
Plants! Who would have guessed?! None here, fortunately. Sanitizing standards are pretty lax from what I see -- will work on the kitchen tomorrow. Thanks!
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Please while you are taking care to clean and sanitize make sure you are wearing gloves.
While you are cleaning Gloves. If you leave the room you are cleaning remove the gloves and toss them out and wash your hands. When you return to cleaning glove up again.
Try not to touch your face while you are cleaning
And as long as you have them handy wear a mask. Change masks like you change gloves.
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Katefalc Jan 2022
You do not need a mask. It is not airborne. Strictly passed by hands that come in contact with fecal matter so definitely gloves.
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Sad people with C diff are treated like they have leprosy
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Katefalc Jan 2022
Yes it is sad but it’s also nothing to take lightly. Contagious if not following good handwashing
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Use bleach wipes on door knobs, fridge and appliance handles, cabinet handles , counter tops and faucet handles. I would wipe down the seat and arms of the leather chair with antibacterial soap in hot water then wipe dry. It is contagious in the stool so don’t freak out, just good handwashing, hand sanitizer and common sense .
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the CDC.gov web site has some great information, for lay people and professionals.
The cleaning advice from Katefalc is excellent....a couple of additional suggestions.
Alcohol gel does NOT remove C. diff organism from your hands, or alcohol wipes on surfaces. A bleach based cleaner will.

Do wash your hands with soap and water and use paper towels to turn off faucets and dry your hands. Put on gloves. Try not to touch anything until you are in her bedroom, and then do what she needs.

All of the clothing that she wears should be placed into a trash bag and loosely tied up. Put bag in garage or out on the steps until you can wash and dry the items.
If she is incontinent (very common) bag up her trash the same way, and tie tightly. Can go out with regular municipal pickup. Same for gloves, used bath wipes, TP, etc.
A waterproof mattress cover will help protect the mattress if that is important.

Think about wearing an extra shirt or sweater when you are in close contact with her, to prevent transfer to spores to your clothing. Then remove the extra garment, turn it inside out (dirty sides folded inward, the clean sides on the outside), and leave it outside of her bedroom or bathroom.

Do wash your hands with soap and water and use paper towels to turn off faucets and dry your hands. Put on gloves. Try not to touch anything until you are in her bedroom, and then do what she needs.

Good luck!
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HollyIvy Jan 2022
Thank you! She is now back in hospital (C diff test positive) so we are getting everything done now, and she will not be very mobile upon return . all these cleaning tips are great and I am relieved to see that we've been doing it the right way with bleach solution and gloves. You all are so helpful!
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I guess the thing is...the second person in the house could be the person without the best hygiene. We're assuming that the person with the c-diff was the one that wasn't washing their hands well--but it could be the other person, communicated to her via bathroom taps or something. Or picked up in public.
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HollyIvy Jan 2022
Hi, thanks for your reply. That had occurred to me too. After finishing the critical cleaning, we just casually kept using bleach wipes on any other area we happened to be in.
The origin of the infection was definitely a nursing facility -- but I'm hopeful that thorough cleaning means less chance of getting it again from germs lingering at home.
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You're off to a good start! I'd add kitchen, including appliances. Re: leather chair - there are products specifically for leather which are most safe
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