Wipe down surfaces
Certain types of viruses, including the flu, can live on surfaces for up to 24 hours. Use bleach or a disinfectant spray to wipe down and sanitize the surfaces (especially the highly trafficked ones) in your home. This includes countertops, tables, doorknobs, faucets and even the remote.
Cold and flu germs can last around 24 to 48 hours on hard surfaces. Kasandra Brabaw is a writer who focuses on health, sex/relationships, and stories for and about her communities including the LGBTQ+ and fat communities.
Both influenza A and B viruses survived for 24–48 hr on hard, nonporous surfaces such as stainless steel and plastic but survived for <8–12 hr on cloth, paper, and tissues.
Mix hot water and vinegar for the best results. Hydrogen peroxide, another common household item, can also be used to kill bacteria and viruses. It should be used the same way as bleach- mixed with water and then wiped down. Be careful with H2O2 as it can also stain clothes and porous counters.
Shared items are especially important to clean after you or someone in your household has been sick. Launder on the hot water setting with sanitizing laundry soap.
The flu virus can live on clothing like gloves and scarves for two or three days, while diarrhea-causing viruses, such as rotavirus and norovirus, may thrive for as many as four weeks.
Considering that water from natural droplets would quickly evaporate once the droplet had fallen onto the clothes, indirect transmission of influenza through virus-contaminated clothing may occur, if only under limited circumstances.
Influenza is primarily spread through airborne transmission via aerosols. These tiny particles are released when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks and can float through the air for a long time.
When the sickness is gone, immediately strip the bed, wash the bedding and replace. If possible, do it in the mornings and leave the stripped mattress air out the entire day. If there is any vomit, discharge, blood or other yucky stuff on the linens, remember to pre-soak in a stain remover before washing.
Open the windows to let in fresh air.
There's nothing worse than stuffy air, especially if you've been cooped up in the house in bed for days. Open up the windows and give the house a good misting with an odor killing spray like Febreze Air Effects or a similar product.
Bringing fresh, outdoor air into your home helps keep virus particles from accumulating inside. If it's safe to do so, open doors and windows as much as you can to bring in fresh, outdoor air. While it's better to open them widely, even having a window cracked open slightly can help.
People with flu can spread it to others. Most experts think that flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze, or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby (usually within about 6 feet away) or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
The flu virus is most commonly spread from person to person through the air we breathe, but it can also be spread by the surfaces we touch. Keeping this in mind, there are simple steps you can take to help protect yourself and loved ones from the flu this season.
Let's clear the air on one thing – cold air doesn't make you sick. In fact, getting fresh air is good for you when you're feeling under the weather. When you're cooped up inside, you're sharing the same air with those around you.
Cold viruses can survive on indoor surfaces for up to seven days, but are infectious only for about 24 hours. Cold viruses can survive on indoor surfaces for up to seven days, but are infectious only for about 24 hours.
Most people get the flu when they breathe in tiny airborne droplets from the coughs or sneezes of someone who has the flu. You can also catch the flu if you touch something with the virus on it, and then touch your mouth, nose, or eyes. People often confuse colds and flu.
Regular washing with laundry detergent will remove some germs and bacteria, but to "sanitize" laundry means to use high temperatures or chemicals to kill 99.9 percent of germs, like OxiClean Laundry and Home Sanitizer, which also works as a great mold remover.
According to World Health Organization, temperatures of at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius) are enough to kill most viruses.
In order to properly disinfect your bedding, you need to use the right laundry settings. Don't just set it on cold like you do for your colored clothes! Instead, you need to be setting your washing machine to the hottest temperature setting. This is because heat kills germs!
Germs from respiratory viruses can live a few days, while some that cause diarrhea can live for weeks. Bacteria can live for weeks and can even multiply. You should wash any soiled bedding as soon as possible and wash sheets regularly when someone is sick.
Wash sick bed sheets separately from other items.
Machine wash the bedding with hot water (hottest cycle possible) and add a high-quality detergent, such as Persil. For extra protection, use Persil antibacterial laundry sanitiser which is added to your laundry during the rinse cycle.
Robin Thompson, an internist at ProHealth Care Associates in Huntington, N.Y. “Avoiding close contact is probably helpful, but not a guarantee,” she said. Sleeping in the same bed will increase your chances of contracting your spouse's illness but often can't be avoided, Dr. Thompson said.