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With COVID-19, I'm worried about my mother's health. I'm cleaning/disinfecting way more than I used to before ... but still have anxiety that what I'm doing is not enough.


What are your go-to cleaning/disinfecting products?
What does your cleaning/disinfecting routine look like?

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Caringcara, each case is different depending on how many are in the household, if anyone work outside the home, if they are around people, etc.

It's just the two of us, so we pretty much just wash our hands with regular bar of soap numerous times a day, always when coming inside after running errands.... we use masks in the store and hand sanitizer in the car.

I use to do a lot more, like wiping down with Lysol wipes the car steering wheel, door handle and keys, but stopped doing that. We use grocery curb-side pickup [order on-line] and I use to spray down the grocery bags before unpacking, but stopped doing that, also. Now we just wash our hands after unloading groceries. So far so good.

Also keep some windows open to get fresh air, and with the cooler weather it is wonderful :)

When I was working at the office, I use to smell of Lysol because I used it so much. Would spray the whole office. Use Lysol wipes on the door handles, the counter tops, the coffee maker, the bathroom keys, the file draw handles, the TV remote, the computer keyboards, the Mouse, the telephones, etc. Whew.

Do what you feel is comfortable for you and your Mom. Don't exhaust yourself.
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Nayners24 Sep 2020
I too used to clean everything daily, but quickly realized it wasn't necessary. As someone else stated, unless there are a lot of people coming and going, you can use any disinfectant spray. For us, washing hands with soap and water at home is sufficient, although I do keep hand sanitizer around the house. I always use disinfectant to clean my bathroom, so that area isn't a problem. I use Lysol spray or a solution of Pine Sol and water to disinfect kitchen counters. So far, so good.
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If Mom is in her own home and there aren't people coming and going, I don't see where you need to clean constantly. I have a tube of Clorox wipes near by for wiping down my kitchen counters. I usually do this when I have brought in groceries from the outside. Having you and those entering her home wash their hands is a good idea. Even wearing a mask. If you want to wipe down the bathroom, clorox wipes are good. There is no way the virus can enter the home if there is no one to bring it in. I used to wipe down pkgs coming in but not so much now. But if u feel better doing it, do it.
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I may seem lax to some, but I use soap and water for hand cleaning and diluted bleach for surface cleaning. I have worked in food service for decades and diluted bleach is what is used in commercial kitchens for sanitizing, so that is what I use at home.

When out and about I use hand sanitizer.
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JoAnn29 Sep 2020
Working for nurses I found that 1 part bleach to 10 parts water is enough to disinfect. I had to clean returned medical equipment.
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Ya know I have a lot of mirrors and a show once suggested 70% rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle to clean them.

Well guess what, it’s good for everything as far as disinfectant, your cellphone, counter tops etc. my daughter makes fun of me but it’s perfect and basic not full of chemicals. And of course my mirrors are sparkling and streak free! haha
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NeedHelpWithMom Sep 2020
And inexpensive too!
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This may sound odd but I love Dawn dish liquid for cleaning a lot of things.

Awhile back my daughter bought an inexpensive necklace to wear. She liked it and wore it a lot. She discovered that she was sensitive to the metal. Her neck actually turned black! She scrubbed it and it would not come off.

I searched online and a woman had posted an article about metal reactions and recommended to wash with dish liquid. It worked like a charm!

I mentioned it to my dermatologist when I went to have a mole removed. She was impressed and said she was going to do some research on it.
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My client has me lysol door handles and sanitize my hands before and after opening the door for my shift. On Sunday, we did our monthly Costco trip and they had lysol and clorox wipes. My client, her daughter in law and me all bought a set.

I need to clean a commode. I used to have to lysol it but now they have me use bleach. I have to put sanitizer in the laundry. I wear gloves more when I clean and do dishes but they want me to use reusable not disposable gloves if I am not touching body fluids. I always wear a mask, wash hands and sanitize. I use a balm on my hands with socks over them at night because they are dry and cracked.

At my house, when you come in you need to wash your hand with antibacterial soap in the kitchen sink.
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Get a spray bottle, add 1/4 clorox bleach, 3/4 water. Use to kill germs, spray and wipe. A gallon of clorox will last and works better than any already bottled cleaning product I have tried. I got this recipe from a clean freak.
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DiamondAngel14 Sep 2020
Cap full of bleach is good for a gallon of water ...cap full...not cup
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I use Dawn for general cleaning...it can be used for so many things around the house. Windex is great to sanitize stainless surfaces, faucets, etc...However, my favorite is the “Wintergreen“ rubbing alcohol. It’s inexpensive and easy to use on doorknobs, etc... and smells fresh.
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Jasmine9 Sep 2020
Can you tell me more about "Wintergreen" rubbing alcohol. I have a mother on hospice, and I'm trying to keep things as clean as possible.................I have Dawn, but so far, usually usually it for cleaning dishes........once I tried to get a stain out of the rug with it.............however, left a bluish discoloration that I am washing to try to get out. Interesting that you use Windes to sanitize stainless steel surfaces.............I have it, but thought it was only a glass cleaner. Any information would be helpful...........thanks.
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I use Clorox wipes or Lysol Spray on most things. For my husbands wheelchair when he comes home from Dialysis I use a water and bleach solution. I clean the bathrooms with a hydrogen peroxide cleaner and Ajax. In the kitchen and bathroom I have antibacterial soap in a pump bottle and hand sanitizer. Also leave a hand sanitizer on my LO bedstand. I also leave some masks for my LO if any family stops by for a minute I put a mask on him.
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We wash hands with soap and water regularly and have used Dawn, white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide in various combinations for cleaning different things. We were using these things pre COVID and continue to because other than the Dawn maybe, they are all natural disinfectants and kill bacteria. I can’t do bleach.
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Keep in mind ... you have to breathe in these cleaning products. Be careful.

Try to stick with the naturals or something mild. (not so harmful)
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Our Mother’s room and bathroom gets tidied everyday . We switched all of our cleaning products to Melaleuca ( all natural) Their disinfectant is approved for Covid . These products are the only thing that gets the pee smell out of her room and especially her laundry. Hope this helps :)
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Jasmine9 Sep 2020
Where do you get Melaeuca...........I've never heard of it, and would appreciate any additional information you have about it. Thanks.?
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I am an RN. This is my routines and products.

1 - Mask and hand sanitizer when out of the house. Clean hands any time I touch a questionable surface (I imagine that some sticky person with poor hygiene may have touched it earlier).

2 - Leave face mask and shoes at the door - in the garage is better.

3 - I disinfect everything I bring in from public places (same reason as #1).

Food - spray all containers with 70% rubbing alcohol.
produce - wash with warm, soapy water in the sink and air dry.

Wipe door knobs and handles after coming home.

Clean face masks daily.
My sister, also an RN, runs hers through the washer and air dries.
I wash mine by hand with laundry detergent, laundry sanitizer and Shout (to get rid of make-up stains) and throw it in the dryer.

4 - Surfaces that had questionable contacts - clean with combo of vinegar and rubbing alcohol or sanitizing (bleach) wipes.
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We use baking soda for the laundry, salt to do the dishes, and vinegar to disinfect and wash the floors.
We use Epsom salts when having a bath and a body brush in the shower instead of shampoo. We use corn starch instead of underarm deodorant.
We have been using these for decades. They are natural and, in my opinion, even better that any store bought products.
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-Used a separate "diaper like pail" in my mother's bathroom since she did not flush the Cottonelle wipes down the toilet. (For some plumbing, a home may not have an ordinary septic tank, but a leach field). Without the closed diaper pail, she would put them in the trash can and it was NOT pleasant, to say the least.
-Had a nail brush for scrubbing under nails as oftentimes fecal matter can stay there.
- Used Clorox wipes throughout the house.
-Used Oxyclean in laundry room.
- Switched out bar soap (messy and can contain bacteria) to liquid soap container.
-Washed the bathroom floor daily (yes, absolutely necessary if you were not making it to the toilet).
-Be careful when using cleaning agents as some mixes can become toxic. (One time I used a restaurant facility. They were mixing cleaning agents and I had to immediately leave as it was very toxic).
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Isthisrealyreal Sep 2020
That's good she wasn't flushing those wipes, they are not really flushable.
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While raising my family, I learned pretty early on, some simple cleaning tips that helped keep us healthy as well as prevent others from getting ill when one of us (usually the kids) got sick. Chlorox wipes for cleaning surfaces; plus I learned that it was kinder for my hands to wearing disposable gloves while cleaning. Also, start with the cleanest areas of the bathroom and work to the dirtiest. Washing the floors start with the kitchen, end with the bath. When done soak the mop in a water and bleach solution and hang to dry. To prevent illness when one person in the house isn't well, I would crack a window or two open, use Lysol spray in the bathroom after they were done using it, and use a small paper bag for the sick one to stash used kleenexes. The rest is really more about self-care. Eat nutritiously, a little extra Vitamin D, Vitamin C is helpful, good sleep, and fresh air/exercise/laughter everyday.
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Something that I have always wanted to try and never have is a squeegee.

Remember years ago, our moms cleaned windows and mirrors with newspapers? Yep, newspapers did a great job! One drawback though is if the ink runs onto a wall or wooden windowsill, it has to be cleaned or repainted.

Newspaper was chosen because it is dense. It didn’t create any lint. Nor did it create any scratches.

Who reads newspapers these days? I haven’t had a newspaper delivered to my door in ages! Nowadays we read the internet.

I heard that a squeegee does a great job in the shower, windows and mirrors with vinegar or windex.
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