Frequent airing
This is perhaps the most frequent piece of advice I’ve heard. Indeed, the vast majority of viruses get to us by airborne droplets through the nasopharynx.
Therefore, frequent airing of the room in which the virus circulates is, of course, a way out, but it will not completely protect us from infection.
Because, to paraphrase the famous proverb, for every sneeze the window does not open. In addition, viruses and bacteria are not only in the air, they settle literally everywhere. And even in dust, they can survive up to 5 weeks! Therefore, you will have to roll up your sleeves and pick up a rag.
Wet cleaning and washing
To begin with, we remove all “dust collectors” – carpets and soft toys. Cleaning should be carried out at least twice a day with special disinfectants.
To disinfect the apartment, experts recommend using monochloramine (50 g per 10 l of water). Although this product contains chlorine, it is considered relatively safe for humans.
A solution of monochloramine is suitable here for wiping floors, walls, tiles, plastic, furniture, plumbing, door handles, surfaces painted with oil paint. Just remember to protect your hands with latex gloves during cleaning.
If you absolutely do not want to use a chlorine-containing preparation, you can replace it with 9% table vinegar (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water). With a 3–7% solution of vinegar, you can fill the spray bottle and treat it with children’s toys, clothes, floors, and upholstered furniture. If you are afraid that vinegar will ruin any things, first try the product in a small area.
White linen can be disinfected by immersing in a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide; it has bleaching properties (100 g of the drug is dissolved in 10-12 liters of warm water, the laundry is immersed there, brought to a boil and boiled, stirring, for 15 minutes).
During machine washing, boiling water is poured into the drum, 100 g of hydrogen peroxide are added, and pre-washed laundry is added to the solution for 5-10 minutes. Colored items can be decontaminated with the same vinegar. Immerse them in a weak vinegar solution before washing (for 5 l of water, 50-100 g of table vinegar) or pour this solution into the washing machine’s tank before rinsing the already washed laundry. You should also be vacuuming your carpets often as a general rule of thumb to keep a clean home. You can see some good robot vacuums here if you’re unable to clean frequently.
Ultraviolet irradiation
This is a great way to kill all viruses and bacteria. Just keep in mind that open-type irradiators are used indoors when there are no people, otherwise you can seriously damage the cornea of the eye or get a “sun” skin burn.
Closed bactericidal ultraviolet lamps are able to work all day in the presence of people. If you have a regular household quartz tanning lamp in your house, then it can also be used for disinfection, including for 10 minutes every one and a half to two hours.
Air scent
Essential oils containing a large number of volatile products are also our allies in the fight against viruses and pathogenic bacteria. Especially a lot of these useful volatile compounds in oils of lavender, eucalyptus, monarda, basil, fennel, lemon balm, coniferous plant oils. However, most aromatic oils have an antiseptic effect, so choose according to your taste. For a room of 20 square meters. with a ceiling height of 2.5 m, just two drops of 100% essential oil are enough. You can saturate the atmosphere with the help of an aroma lamp or an ultrasonic diffuser – the latter will also humidify the air in the room.
By the way, portable diffusers have also appeared today, which are connected to a personal computer via a USB socket, however, instead of this gadget, you can hang an incense or aroma pendant dressed with essential oil on your neck.
You can also spread saucers with finely chopped onions or garlic throughout the house – they contain a lot of volatile products.
Fumigation of the room
This effective way to fight viruses has been known since ancient times. To scare away viruses and bacteria, you can burn a handful of dry leaves of eucalyptus, sage, rosemary, lavender or juniper. However, it is much more convenient to use incense or traditional incense sticks soaked in natural essential oils of jasmine, orange, rose, mandarin, clove, lemon, sandalwood, myrrh, ginger, eucalyptus, cedar, fir, juniper, lavender. True, you should not get carried away with incense sticks: they can cause irritation to the eyes or nasal mucosa and even trigger an asthma attack.
