How to properly disinfect your household items

As the world grapple with the COVID-19 crisis, it's better to extend our preventive measures to our home by disinfecting some of the most used household items against viruses and germ.

In a recent interview with GMA's morning show Unang Hirit, Dr. Erica Davillo, a family and occupational medicine physician discussed tips on how to properly disinfect the most commonly used household items including towels, bedsheets, pillow cases and seat covers.

Here's what you need to do in order to equip your home for safety and security.

Fabric seat covers or couches

As the centerpiece of your home, a couch is also a breeding ground for bacteria that leads to foul smells and the spread of viruses. To prevent it from contracting germs, always disinfect it with fabric disinfecting spray or alcohol every morning and night. Do not use disinfecting solutions like chlorine since it can cause irritation on the skin.

You can also vacuum your sofa to keep the surface area free of dust, dirt, and stains. And make it a habit to put covers on couches that you can consistently change and wash.

Source: Daria Shevvtsova (Pexels)

Bedsheets

Since we spend a large amount of time on our beds, especially that we are still in quarantine, we must disinfect our beddings to remove allergens, germs and bacteria in it. You can use alcohol or fabric disinfecting spray.

Germs can spread not only through human contact, but through contact with soiled sheets and blankets as well that's why they must be washed once a week. For the proper washing of sheets, you should fsoak the linen in hot water with disinfecting solutions first. Rinse it after five minutes. After rinsing, you can now wash them with detergent soap.

Source: Pixabay (IG)

Pillow cases

It would be best to use individual pillowcases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Best practice is to change your pillowcases at least once a week and disinfect them with disinfectant or alcohol before every use.

Source: Terje Sollie (Pexels)

Towel

Bath towels are prime locations for germs. Transmission of virus through towels is much faster since it has direct contact with wet skin. If feasible, it's better to hang them up under the heat of the sun after each use. Regularly wash the linen as soon as possible to prevent cross-contamination.

Source: Thomas Cotton (Pexels)

Dra. Davillo also advised the public that it's better to practice these measures to prevent or reduce the spread of illness in your home even if no one in the household experiences COVID-19-related symptoms.

“Malaki ang role ng pag-disinfect lalo na sa bahay kasi maaari nating maiwasan ang transmission ng virus lalo na sa panahon ngayon na COVID-19 pandemic.

“Sa panahon ngayon, mas safe pa rin na ganu'n 'yung gawin. Mas maganda na mayroon tayong preventive measures na ginagawa,” she said.