How to Lower your Chances of Spreading a Cold or the Flu

When an illness visits your home and then finally departs, you want to make sure that it is gone for good. To lower the chances of anyone else contracting the illness or someone getting re-infected as can happen with certain illnesses, you want to take all of the precautions you can. There are a variety of steps that can get rid of those germs and hopefully be the last you see of that particular illness.
Use cleaners to disinfect the surfaces that were touched by the ill person. Of course, clean areas that are obviously soiled, but there are many areas that may appear clean but can still be dirty. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), commonly touched surfaces include doorknobs, the keyboards on computers, toys, phones, counters and the handles in the washroom. Consider the different items in your home such as a desk or a table. You will find a wide variety of cleaners that disinfect, such as Lysol. You can use rags or buy disposable wipes.
When using cleaners to disinfect surfaces, it is vital to not mix cleaners that can be potentially hazardous. Some cleaners mix to create a hazardous gas that can cause severe illness. Use one per surface.
Make sure that you clean in a well-ventilated area and take precautions such as wearing gloves or protective clothing. Also, make sure you follow the directions. For instance, some cleaners require that you let it soak for a specific amount of time before it kills the germs. Also, if you are looking for something that kills a particular virus, then check to see that it does that. For instance, the CDC recommends using an EPA-registered disinfectant that kills the influenza A virus if that is what you are fighting.
Make sure to wash all of the linens in the house. Clean the bed sheets and blankets. Clean the towels. Make sure that any fabric item that the person touched is cleaned in the washing machine, if possible.
Empty all of the trash. Especially get rid of everything associated with the illness such as used tissues. You might even want to wipe down the garbage can.
Also consider any food or drink that the person was using. If he or she had a water bottle, for instance, then make sure to wash it. If he or she had half-eaten food, then get rid of that.
Make sure you take steps to not get yourself sick while cleaning. Use gloves and wash your hands immediately afterwards.
Proper disinfecting can lower your chances of spreading the illness further. Make sure to be diligent and do all of the steps to lower your chances the most. Also, try to do it in a timely fashion since the risk of exposure is generally the highest at the beginning.