With new, highly contagious cold and flu germs and viruses making human beings ill everyday, its important to start the process of prevention at home. Knowing what to do to prevent germs from entering your home and spreading to your family and making them ill, is the first step.

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Prevent cold and flu germs from spreading in your home
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Keeping a clean home is part of the equation, but cleaning right is important! Here are a few simple cleaning tips to implement today.

Wash Blankets And Linen

Cold and flu infections are way more common in the winter season, when homes tend to be closed up to keep you warm. Shared blankets and linen bedding will harbor disease causing bacteria. Any shared items, when used by a sick person and someone else in the household, will help pass on hidden germs. A really simple way to avoid this is to launder your linens often, especially when someone is sick in the home.

Vacuum

As with linen, the upholstery and soft furnishings in your home will harbor bacteria and germs too, and as much as you would like to shove the entire sofa/couch in the washing machine, that isn't possible so do the next best thing and use a vacuum with a HEPA filter. A HEPA filter does not blow out dirty air but filters it of the minutest particles, only expelling clean air during the vacuum process.

Wipe Phones

Clean all the phones in your home regularly. The phone is often overlooked during the cleaning process but it can be the culprit, helping to pass on germs between family members. Clean your land-line receiver, the intercom if you have one, and all the mobile phones used by family members with a sanitizing wipe.

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Clean all phones regularly
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Sanitize Vs Disinfect

Reading the label on a cleaning product accurately is as important as the cleaning itself. If a product says "disinfect" it will kill all specified germs and bacteria within 10 minutes of application, when a product says "sanitize" it will kill up to 99% of specified germs in 30 seconds. "Green" cleaning products may be trendy but read the label carefully as they may not have the technical specifications clearly stated and may not be as effective as other products. Also, green cleaning products may not be safe to use around infants.

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Read labels on cleaning products carefully
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Pay Attention To The Floor

A great way to reduce the entry of germs into your home is to make a habit of taking off your shoes near the front door. Starting with inculcating that habit and you will reduce the amount of germs being tracked into your home dramatically. Next, pay attention to cleaning the floors, especially near the entryway, an area that sees a lot of traffic in all homes. Cleaning floors with a disinfectant liquid added to the mop water everyday is an easy way to drop germ levels. Using hot water, or a steam cleaner, for mopping the entryway will help eliminate germs too.

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Invest in a steam cleaner
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Do you have a cleaning tip that has kept your family healthy and your home germ free? Do share it with us today.