I have been busy wiPing down door knobs and light switches. I have been using the same wipe for several knobs. At what stage would you replace it with a fresh one? I don’t want to waste them but I also want to keep things safe.

If I don't have the virus in my house already, the Level 4 self-isolation makes it less likely the virus will come in, unless I or another person in my house brings it home from the supermarket or some other outside contact I or they experience. So is there any point in extra cleaning?

If I already have the virus in my house, it will be on any and every surface in my house that is touched or breathed on (or sneezed/coughed on), e.g., newspapers, pantry and fridge items, benches and tables, floors, bathroom items, doors, carpet, chairs and couches, TV and remote, phones, curtains, books, all linen currently in use, clothing and shoes, computers, and in the air I'm breathing, so is there any point in me doing extra cleaning?

There's also the scenario where I think there's a chance I might have newly brought the virus into my house (from a supermarket, for example) and so extra cleaning is being done in the hope of deleting it from my house before it infects me or anyone else in my house. This means I need to clean the interior and some of the exterior of my car, wipe down all items brought in from the supermarket (for example) before they touch anything in my house, change my clothes before I let them touch anything in my house (putting them straight into the washing machine bowl), probably have a shower (what's lurking in my hair and on my skin?), etc, etc. Some extra cleaning might help but it's a fairly overwhelming amount.

J1 -- this is exactly why I plan to severely limit the amount I go into town. If at all, possibly. Right now I'm 99% sure our bodies, house and cars are virus free, and the longer they can stay that way, the less cleaning I have to do. And, I expect my mother will die in the next few months, virus or not, and if I want to be able to be with her I can be sick and neither can anyone in my bubble. I'll be doing quite a bit to prevent any of us getting sick.

Very, very glad to be living our of town right now.. I think we'd be having family homicide if we all had to stay in the close quarters of a suburban property, and the major bonus of we have the space to have some extra supplies, plus our chickens and huge vege garden to reduce our need to visit the shops.

So, in answer to your question: A search tells us it appears to be one single surface per wipe. One doorknob = one wipe. Are you able to use an alcohol based spray instead? It would save you an enormous amount in wipes if you're doing it often!

Quote

Most disinfecting wipes claim they can kill up to 99.9% of germs, and in a perfect world, they’re right. COVID-19 is a lipid-containing virus, which means it can be easily killed with wipes, according to Dr. Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Arizona and consultant for the restroom hygiene company Enviro-Master.

But we don’t live in a perfect world, and people misuse wipes, demolishing their effectiveness. One study found that while disinfectant wipes clear off most bacteria from surfaces, it stays on the wipe — and if it’s reused, that bacteria is transferred to the new location. To prevent this, use one wipe, then toss it.

Health experts are also recommending using ethanol or bleach-based wipes rather than benzalkonium chloride or hydrogen peroxide disinfectants. Most people don’t give bleach enough time to work its magic, though, so make a point to apply it, let it sit for a while, then wipe it clean, says Dr. Robert Amler, the dean of the school of health sciences and practice at New York Medical College and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief medical officer.

[www.huffpost.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2020 11:58AM by Jenna.

Yes, and here's some extra info about soap [www.theguardian.com]

Thank you all. Because it’s just the two of us and we have not been to the supermarket or any shop for a while, or had visitors, we feel reasonably safe. Today I will be receiving my first NW delivery and I will wear disposable gloves to unpack on the deck, clean each item with spray, dispose of gloves and wash hands. So much good advice here. I will spray front door handles etc and clean that way. There should be little reason to keep on wiping unless necessary. We went to the doctor yesterday for our flu jab and they are running a very tight ship.
As an aside, the Cardr ona Distillery ceased whiskey making for the time being and made high quality alcohol into hand sanitizer which they offered for free to the community, 500 ml once a week, bring your own bottle. I got some brought to the door because I am well into the at risk group. This offer to the community has stopped now of course, but what a wonderful and generous offer they made. Wishing you all well and how comforting to know that we have this caring foodlovers community.

If wanting to remain very cautious about virus transmission, it probably also pays to take care around delivered newspapers and mail. The virus can remain viable on cardboard, for instance, for 24 hours, and plastic (if your newspaper comes in a plastic bag, for instance) for 72 hours. [www.sciencedaily.com]

Yes, J1, we dispose of the plastic wrap of our newspaper, wash hands again, and we don’t read the paper while having our breakfast. It all takes a bit of getting used to. We are working ourselves I to a routine.

I'm not overly doing it, don't know if it's good or not. Since the lockdown, I've been sitting inside non-stop, only exception was that I went on 2 shopping trips (short and fast) to cover necessities for the house. Went alone, threw everything off and cleaned myself and the clothes as soon as I came in. But I'm not cleaning knobs or doing anything of this kind, I don't find it necessary, no one goes out, why would I? I wash my hands normally too, there's no point in overdoing it cause I don't touch stuff that could be contaminated.