Help keep your home a clean, safe haven…
While we - or most of us - are working from home and hopefully
sheltering in place I'm sure the thought runs through our heads "Gee, is my
house as clean as I can make it"?
If you are like me, every sniffle, every itch, every cough arouses
suspicion about the virus.Is our home
clean enough?How many times do I need
to wash my hands?Is there more that I
could be doing?
It's enough to drive one crazy.
So here are a few things that maybe you haven't thought about with some
of the systems around your home, kind of a do this don't do that list just to
help your mind at ease.
Plumbing.The
absolute biggest no-no here deals with what you are flushing down the toilet
that didn't come out of your body.Here
is the approved list of things to be flushed:
1 - Toilet paper.
That is the end of the list.No
tissue paper, no paper towels, no baby wipes, no adult wipes, no man wipes, no
newspaper, and depending on how desperate times are no pages from a magazine.
How about wipes that claim to be 'flushable'?
No.Trust me, they aren't.
In case you missed it, go back about 3 paragraphs and read it
again.That is it.The entire list.The whole enchilada as it were.
Don't even try.Only toilet paper
is thin enough to be safely used.The
heavier the material the more likely it will either clog or start a clog in the
commode itself or the drain.It just
takes one little snag in the line for a blockage to begin to build up.
So while you may have to get creative, please only flush the Charmin.
HVAC.I've
had a lot of questions about how to make your indoor air quality be as good as
possible.
Ideally and especially for those of us who have crawlspaces, this
process would begin with encapsulating that crawlspace to help get yucky humid
air out of our house.
But I get it, you want your indoor air to be as well filtered as
possible.
That would include the following in order of least best to best best.
A - Change your filter.Doesn't
matter which filter you have, change it on a regular basis - regular being a
code word for monthly or quarterly.
2 - Upgrade your filter system.Media filters (they are the folded ones) are at the top of this
category.The better ones need a
professional to install.HEPA filters
are the best.Worth it.
D - UV light.UV light sanitizers
will kill germs and mold (no, they won't kill the Covid-19 virus) and when
added to a proper filter is the best thing to the air in your house.That is as good as it gets, without being
hermetically sealed and kept in a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnall's porch
since noon today…
Carpet.The
CDC recommends the cleaning of all the hard and soft surfaces in your
home.Hard surfaces range from counter
tops and appliances to door knobs and furniture.But soft surfaces include your carpet.
Getting your carpet professionally cleaned should be at or near the top
of your list.Every sneeze and cough
settles down onto your floor.Clean
it.Now.
You can find some carpet cleaning companies will also clean the hard
surfaces in your home as well.Win, win.
Pest Control.I am
throwing this in for one reason - mosquitoes.Yes it is warming up outside which makes us want to go outside and enjoy
it.Yes, being outside in the fresh air
and sunshine is supposed to be better for us than sitting around inside the
house day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day
after day after day.
After day after day after day after day after day - you get the picture.
You will enjoy your yard more if you get it treated for mosquitoes.Check out the 5Things section of this
newsletter to learn more about getting your yard to be a mosquito free zone.
Stay safe.Stay home. Work
hard.Wash your hands.
Oh yeah - and relax a little…