My community has been calling on me for Coronavirus cleaning advice the past…6 weeks or so. People are scared. They want to know how the virus is spread. They are desperate to understand how to keep their homes safe and virus-free right now, in the age of Coronavirus.

To be sure, it’s a freaky time. Very few of us have ever lived through anything like this before. And the word on the street (and, at the CDC) is that this is just the beginning. Yikes!

Here’s what I’m telling friends and loved ones today:

The Best COVID-19 Advice from Professional House Cleaners (IICRC)

To kill 99% of the germs in your home during this time of Coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) recommend a simple, inexpensive, 2-Step Process as the most effective strategy:

1. 1. 1. 1. Clean
         2. Disinfect

Don’t spend a fortune! You’ve already got this stuff in the house.

Despite the fact that grocery stores present us with thousands of other choices, the VERY BEST CLEANING PRODUCT remains…drumroll, please…

• Soap and water

Yes, you got that right. According to the IICRC, the perfect cleaning and disinfecting protocol for your home is:

1. Warm, soapy water (clean)
2. 70% alcohol, undiluted, applied with a spray bottle (disinfect)

This is going to kill 99% of germs in your home – and it’s safe for babies and pets. Do this now, and keep the spray bottle handy for every time you go out and come back in the house. Having food delivered? Spray the packaging. The virus can live on surfaces!

Please put away those alcohol wipes!

Here’s the best Coronavirus cleaning advice I’ve found:

• Go get a good ol’ fashioned bucket of water

What this does is actually dissolve the everyday dirt and grime that are clinging invisibly to the surfaces in your home

• When that’s dry, you spray on the alcohol

This is safe – and effective – for your wood, granite, stainless steel – every surface in a kitchen or bathroom. It’s also safe for fabrics, so you can spray mattresses and linens. It dries quickly, and continues to protect you for days.

Here’s what we know about how coronavirus spreads:

• It’s a respiratory disease. That means transmission is through your nose and mouth. Therefore, sneezing or coughing are most likely to spread it.
• The moisture from the sneeze or cough lands on a surface…
• …where someone else comes along and touches it with their hands or clothing…
• and then rubs their eyes or mouth…
• …or grips a doorknob that dozens of people will also touch…
• …or just carries it along till they rub it off on another person.

Again, untreated, the virus can live up to 9 days on surfaces!

So, let’s get to scrubbing!

Caveat: Keep things in perspective. Don’t get OCD

There’s such a thing as overdoing it. Yes, this is a scary time. But we can’t sanitize our living spaces to the point where we permanently weaken our immune systems.

It’s a dirty world out there, and – in normal circumstances – our bodies are well equipped to fight the day-to-day fight against bacteria, germs, and viruses. In short, we need some dirt in our world!

But as we have learned, Coronavirus is a different thing altogether, and most of us are vulnerable (not just old people, like we thought).

So, let’s just keep things in perspective. This too shall pass. Till then…

Stay safe!

Nicole

About Park Avenue Cleaning

Park Avenue Cleaning, LLC provides white-glove cleaning services to homeowners and business owners throughout the greater Baltimore area. Experience a truly remarkable clean with our services! We’re still working! Worrying about effectively disinfecting your home? Call us today at (877) 546-9837.