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SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is believed to spread primarily when a person with the virus coughs or sneezes in close proximity to someone who is healthy — underscoring the current emphasis on social distancing.
However, the possibility that healthy people can contract the virus by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching their mouth or eyes hasn’t been ruled out. This is why we’re constantly being reminded to wash our hands and wipe down surfaces during the current pandemic.
But proper cleaning and disinfecting means using the right products. Some popular cleaning products won’t stop COVID-19, while others contain harsh ingredients that carry health risks of their own. And constant handwashing may damage skin if precautions aren’t taken.
Let’s look at the safest ways to clean and disinfect to reduce your risk of COVID-19.
Perhaps you return home from shopping and drop your reusable bags on the dining table. Maybe you took the kids for a walk in the neighborhood and forgot to wash everyone’s hands upon returning. These are just a couple of ways that surfaces in the home can become contaminated — drastically increasing the risk of infection.
SARS-CoV-2 and other potentially life threatening pathogens can invade your living spaces remarkably easily, so it’s critical to up the disinfecting and cleaning efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
A new study, as yet unpublished, by scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and other institutions finds that SARS-CoV-2 can persist for 2 to 3 days on plastic or stainless steel surfaces. This means that forgetting to wipe down surfaces can have consequences even days later.
And if someone in your household is already ill, then the need to disinfect and clean high-contact surfaces in your home is especially important. It’s critical that you consider all objects that have a particularly high chance of carrying a bug.
Besides targets like doorknobs, handles, drawers, countertops, and light switches, you need to consider surfaces you rarely, if ever, wipe down.
“It’s important to look first at high-touch surfaces and how many people are in contact with those surfaces — think of tables and counters, doorknobs and handles, phones, remotes, keyboards, steering wheels, and light switches. The number of high-touch surfaces is greater than people tend to think it is,” said Brian Hedlund, PhD, a microbiologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in a statement.
“Repeatedly washing hands and using hand sanitizer can cause skin irritation and fissures,” said Dr. Suzanne Friedler, board-certified dermatologist with Advanced Dermatology and clinical instructor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center.
To prevent skin damage, Friedler recommends we avoid washing with hot water and use soap for sensitive skin.
“When using hand sanitizer, try to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer,” Friedler said.
This is because ethanol (alcohol) seems to be less irritating than n-propanol or isopropanol, she explained.
Friedler also recommends applying hand cream often, and if you’re putting on gloves, make sure your hands are dry beforehand to decrease irritation. “You can also wear cotton gloves underneath rubber ones,” she said.
