Note: This story was edited to clarify that the recommendations are for households where someone is sick or suspected to be infected/exposed.
Even while stuck at home, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says you should be disinfecting and cleaning as often as every day.
The CDC recommends on its website regularly disinfecting high-touch surfaces like tables, hard-backed chairs, doorknobs, light switches, remotes, handles, desks, toilets and sinks.
If someone in your household is sick or believed to have been exposed to the virus, the CDC recommends disinfecting every day.
When disinfecting surfaces, the CDC recommends wearing gloves and discarding gloves after each cleaning. If a surface is dirty, it should be cleaned with soap and water before being disinfected.
When disinfecting, the CDC says you can use “diluted household bleach solutions” or alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol.
For soft surfaces like carpet, rugs and drapes should be used with appropriate cleaners and laundered as appropriate.
» COMPLETE COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS
If someone in your household gets sick, the CDC recommends having a designated room for them and if possible, a separate bathroom not shared with healthy household members.
The sick person should eat meals in the designated room, if possible and have a dedicated, lined trash can. Use gloves when serving food items and removing trash.
The difference between cleaning and disinfecting, according to the CDC:
Cleaning means removing germs and dirt from surfaces. While it may lower the risk of spreading germs by removing them, it does not kill germs. Disinfecting is the process of using chemicals to kill germs on a surface. It doesn’t necessarily clean a dirty surface, but disinfecting a surface after cleaning it will lower the risk of spreading infection, the CDC says.
