Quick and effective flu prevention cleaning tips

Most of us never think about flu season, until we start feeling that itch in the back of our throats or the sniffle of a runny nose. According to the CDC, Center for Disease Control, website, the number one way to prevent the flu is to get a flu shot. If for one reason or another you don’t get your annual flu shot, simple and effective cleaning can keep you and your family healthy this flu season. This year, prevent the flu and other sickness by keeping your frequented areas - home, desk and car - clean with our simple, but effective tips!

Can you guess one of the germiest places, which you sit at majority of your week? That’s right, your desk. Whether you work at an office in a cubicle or at home, your desk can be one of the dirtiest, germiest places, even though it looks spotless. If you spend 40 hours or more sitting at one spot, wouldn’t it make sense for you to make sure it’s the cleanest you can possibly make it? Keeping your desk clean and germ free can prevent a lot of risk of contracting a cold or flu. Here are our tips for keeping your workspace clean:

• Keep hand sanitizer nearby: If you frequently interact with other people in your office, having hand sanitizer on hand is a good way of getting rid of extra germs that can lurk on your desk. Whether it’s shaking hands with a business visitor or touching the printer every day, you never know what germs can get on your hands. A quick disinfectant with a hand sanitizer can make it quick and easy to keep germs from spreading.
• Wipe down your desk - including your phone, keyboard and mouse: Think of places you touch almost constantly at work - the first three that to come to mind are your keyboard, computer mouse and phone. Keeping disinfectant wipes on hand to clean these germ ridden spots can help keep you cold and flu free. Everyday before getting to work, take a minute to wipe your keyboard, mouse and phone down - you’ll thank me later when your coworkers are home sick and you’re not sick and working away.

Now that we’ve got your work space covered, let’s clean how you get to and from work - your car. Your car is one of the places that you spread those germs that you pick up from places like work, the grocery store, the gym - anywhere you touch a lot of things.

• Prevent spreading germs through hand sanitation: Something I’ve gotten in the habit of doing, especially during cold and flu season is disinfecting my hands after going into the grocery store and gym. These are places I frequent, as do many others, making them a breading grounds for germs. If you disinfect your hands right as you get in your car, the germs you may have picked up along the way are instantly stopped in their tracks.
  
• Wipe down your car interior weekly - especially those frequently touched areas: Cleaning your car is probably the last thing you want to be doing weekly, but if you’re determined to stay cold and flu free, it’s necessary. Frequently touched areas are the places you want to focus your disinfectant efforts. These areas are places like your door handle, the steering wheel, stick shift and radio buttons.
  

Now that we’ve gone over the less obvious places, your desk and car, to keep germ free to prevent cold and flu, let’s go over the obvious place - your home. Your home can build up germs in no time. From kids bringing germs home from school to the dog dragging them in from outside, germs come from all over to spread in your home.

• Vacuum - germs like to hide in that fluffy carpet of yours: One way you can be dragging germs into your home is through your shoes. Once inside the home, germs love to hide in places like the carpet, where they can multiply and get into the air, causing you and your family to get sick. A simple way to get rid of them is vacuum weekly. It may seem like an annoying task to do every week, but add it into your routine and it will make your house not only feel cleaner but full of less germs.
  
• When having guests over, replace bathroom hand towels with disposable hand towels: Hand towels are another place germs like to hide. Even if guests wash their hands, they could still have germs left on their hands, which are transferred over to that hand towel in your bathroom - which means everyone who uses it, gets some of those germs. For thanksgiving, or holiday parties, a simple replacement of disposable hand towels can prevent this spread of germs, and it will make your bathroom feel a bit fancier to your guests.

Flu season is the last thing you want to think about around the holiday season - but if you get sick during the flu season, you regret not preventing it. That’s where our simple tips come in handy! Quick and effective, they help you stay germ free and most importantly, cold and flu free. Give them a try and let us know if you have any quick and effective flu prevention tips you swear by!