Disinfecting 101
**UPDATE** This article was published on June 2, 2020. Information presented in this article may no longer be relevant or accurate. Please contact local health agencies and/or the CDC for the most up-to-date information.
There is no vaccine to prevent coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). The best way to prevent illness is to avoid exposure to the virus. However, that’s not always possible. Here are some preventative actions recommended by the CDC that you can do to help prevent the spread of disease.
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Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
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Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
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Stay home when you are sick.
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Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
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Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
How to disinfect
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Protect yourself with safety glasses, gloves and appropriate clothing.
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Clean surfaces using a detergent or general-purpose cleaner to remove soils and organic matter.
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Rinse the surface with clean/fresh water after cleaning.
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Make sure to disinfect according to the directions placed on the labels. Disinfectants must be left wet on a surface for the entire dwell time* suggested before being wiped up. A 10-minute dwell time is recommended.
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Wipe the area once the dwell time is up.
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When finished, remove your safety glasses, discard your used gloves in the trash and wash your hands. Do not reuse cleaning cloths in more than one area.
Hand hygiene is just as crucial as disinfecting. Be sure you are using warm water and soap for 20 seconds.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an expanded list of EPA-registered disinfectant products that have qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. For more information, please visit:
www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2
*Dwell time refers to the amount of time that a disinfecting product needs to sit (or dwell) on a surface to kill organisms. The disinfectant must stay wet for 10 minutes. If it dries before 10 minutes, it needs to be reapplied. These are best practice recommendations.
Sources: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html https://www.miscoproducts.com
