Home Safety Tips During COVID-19

The year 2020 has been all about the outbreak of COVID-19. During the last few months, we were trapped in our houses to assure our safety and slow the spread of COVID-19. Even now, when the restrictions are slowly beginning to be lifted, our lives don’t seem to be back to normal. Moreover, the chances of everything being normal again and coronavirus leaving any sooner seems like a far-away dream for now.

Everyone wants to make sure that they and their family members are safe from COVID-19. This concern leads to countless questions filling our minds. Is it enough to wear masks and sanitizers? Is it safe to order groceries online? Was the delivery person healthy and safe? How do we keep coronavirus out of a home?

Don’t worry! You are certainly not the only one stuck amidst these worries. Right now, we are all facing the same issues. Here are some of the best tips to keep coronavirus far away from your home sweet home.

Try not to let the virus find a way to your home

First and foremost, to keep yourself and your home safe, try not to let the virus find its way into your house. Even if you are reporting to an office for work, make sure to follow every COVID-19 guideline given by the government and doctors. 

It is important to protect yourself from the virus, but even more important if you live with other people. As we all know by now, coronavirus can spread quickly and one needs to take every precaution so it doesn’t find a way in the home. Wear masks whenever you leave your house, keep a sanitizer in your pockets all the time and use it often, maintain a proper distance from people, and avoid touching railings or any outside objects as much as possible.

Believe your home to be your temple

It is customary to wash hands and remove footwear before entering any temple. So, view your home as your temple and make sure you always wash your hands before touching anything when you come from outside. Washing hands is one of the most important COVID-19 prevention guidelines. In addition, practice removing your shoes outside your house and, if possible, try to keep your shoes in sunlight for a while now and then. Sunlight has proven to kill bacteria and viruses. 

Disinfect anything and everything

Whatever you bring in your house has a chance of carrying the virus. Yes, you heard it right! Even the non-living things like your groceries or your bag or your cosmetics or anything can be a carrier of coronavirus in your house. 

Now, you must be thinking about how to sanitize stuff like vegetables. Even though nowadays vegetable washers are available in the market, yet there are many old school ways of doing it as well. 

• Add 1-2 tablespoons of salt to warm water. You can use this to wash your veggies! 
• Soak your vegetables in clean water for a few minutes before using them.
• Vegetables like an onion that can’t be washed beforehand, should be rinsed through clean water after peeling them off. 
• Also, make sure to wash your hands as well before and after cleaning the vegetables and fruits. 

Socialize with proper guards

Many of us often ponder whether it is safe or not to invite someone to your house during COVID-19. The truth is that it is not possible to completely cut the ties with your social life. If those Zoom Happy Hours aren’t cutting it and you want to invite a friend over, here’s what you should know.

• Ask your friends or guests to sanitize themselves as soon as they enter your house.
• If the person is a service provider, ask them to wear disposable gloves before touching any object.
• Don’t host any parties or large gatherings before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak is over. 
• Once your friend or guest leaves, make sure to disinfect everything they touched. (It doesn’t mean that the person was unhealthy in any manner but, taking your safety measures is not at all harmful to anyone.)

Finally, here are a few basic tips for you and your family.

• Avoid inviting or even meeting with a person who is showing COVID-19 similar symptoms.
• Make it your habit to use tissues when coughing or sneezing. If a tissue is not available, use your elbow area to cough or sneeze in. Avoid using hands to cover your mouth.
• Disinfect frequently touched objects of your house like table, sofas, refrigerator, door handles, switches, switchboards etc. at least once a day. 
• If you have small kids in your house, make sure you wash their toys, especially stuffed animals, once every 3 days.
• Add disinfectant when mopping. 
• Read the directions carefully before using any disinfectant or sanitizer. Every product has its specific features and guidelines.
• When going out to shop, prepare a list of items you need to buy beforehand.
• Use disposable gloves when cleaning high touch surfaces and dispose of them after one cleaning.
• To keep your clothes safe from coronavirus, use warm water to wash. Also, make sure you dry them completely in proper sunlight to get rid of any virus infection if any present in them.

Shubhangi Sharma is a content writer. Currently, she works with True PPE USA after graduating with a degree in journalism.