The CDC says there is proof that disinfecting your home and work space properly can help fight back against the flu and coronavirus.
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MORE: US Environmental Protection Agency list of disinfectants to protect themselves from novel coronavirus
The easiest thing you can do both at home, in the office, or out in public is wash your hands. But you have to wash your hands the correct way.
Do: Rub your hands together with soap for at least 20 seconds. Try singing 'Happy Birthday' or 'The Alphabet Song' while washing. Hitting this time mark is essential.
Do: Keep your hands pointing down, so dirty water won't run into your sleeves
Do: Scrub every part of your hand, including the back of your hands and thumbs.
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And remember, longer finger nails can harbor more bacteria than shorter nails.
"You really need to focus on your fingertips. A lot of people wash their palms, but if you think about what you touch the most, it's your fingertips," said Dr. Michael Chang, Infectious Disease Specialist at UTHealth/UT Physicians.
Don't: Touch the faucet or sink. That will only contaminate your skin.
Don't: Forget to fully dry your hands. Wet hands spread germs easier than when they are dry.
The CDC is now urging businesses to vigorously and routinely wipe down their workplace surfaces to contain the spread of any potentially deadly virus. Keeping the office germ free doesn't just mean wiping everything down, but choosing what you clean with and how you clean carefully.
Do: Wipe down everything at your desk or in your office at least once a week to stop new germs from growing.
Do: Leave disinfectant sprays to rest on the surface for at least 10 seconds before wiping it down.
Do: Wipe everything down with a fresh wipe or cloth. That includes your mouse, keyboard, and entire desk chair.
Speaking of your keyboard, flip it over when you leave the office every day.
Don't: Forget to use the one-way wipe method. You never want to wipe in one direction and go back over it in the opposite direction because you will deposit germs you just cleaned up.
Don't: Dry a surface after using an antibacterial wipe. You have to let those air dry.
MORE: 8 ways to flu-proof your home
"I've sometimes seen people use the wipe and then wipe it off and again. That's just not as effective. You need to let that air dry, so the disinfectant in the over-the-counter stuff will have enough time to kill the germs," said Dr. Chang.
Remember, not all products will work in your home. Look at a bottle of Lysol, Purell or Clorox. You'll see a claim that the contents can kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, including the coronavirus.
Those claims are true according to the Center for Biocide Chemistries. They've created a list of more than 100 ready to use, dilatable and wipeable biocidal products that the EPA has approved as effective at killing viruses like the coronavirus.
Here is the list:
1. 128 Disinfectant
2. 128 E-Fecticide
3. 14 plus antibacterial all-purpose cleaner
4. 20 neutral disinfectant cleaner
5. 256 Century Q
6. 3M Disinfectant Cleaner RCT Concentrate
7. 3M MBS Disinfectant Cleaner Concentrate
8. 3M MBS Disinfectant Cleaner Fresh Scent Concentrate
9. 3M Neutral Quat Disinfectant Cleaner Concentrate
10. 3M Quat Disinfectant Cleaner Concentrate
11. A-456 ii disinfectant cleaner
12. ACS Tornado 1 - one-step disinfectant American Chemical Systems 6836-75-86408
13. All Purpose Virex
14. All Purpose Virex Diversey, Inc. 1839-83-70627
15. Array Non-Acid Restroom Cleaner & Disinfectant
16. Avert Sporicidal Disinfectant Cleaner
17. Bleach disinfectant cleaner Ecolab Inc
18. Boost 3200 CIP
19. Boost 3200
20. Boost surface treatment
21. Brighton Professional Hepastat 256
22. Buckeye Eco Neutral Disinfectant
23. Buckeye Eco One-Step Disinfectant-Deodorizer-Cleaner
24. Buckeye Sanicare Lemon Quat
25. Buckeye Sanicare Mint Quat
26. Buckeye Sanicare Pine Quat
27. Buckeye Sanicare Quat 128
28. Buckeye Sanicare Quat 256
29. Buckeye Sani-Q2 B
30. Buckeye Terminator
31. Centraz San Sol 10
32. Classic Whirlpool Disinfectant and Cleaner
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33. Clean Quick broad range quaternary sanitizer
34. Clear Gear Sports Spray-On
35. Clicksan disinfectant/sanitizer Ecolab Inc/kay chemical co. 6836-305-5389
36. Clorox 4 In One Disinfecting Spray
37. Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner + Bleach
38. Clorox Commercial Solutions Clorox 4-in-One Disinfectant & Sanitizer
39. Clorox Commercial Solutions Clorox Clean-Up Disinfectant Cleaner with Bleach
40. Clorox Commercial Solutions Clorox Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner
41. Clorox Commercial Solutions Clorox Disinfecting Biostain & Odor Remover
42. Clorox Commercial Solutions Clorox Disinfecting Spray
43. Clorox Commercial Solutions Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaner Disinfectant
44. Clorox Commercial Solutions Tilex Soap Scum Remover
45. Clorox Commercial Solutions toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach
46. Clorox Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner
47. Clorox Healthcare Bleach Germicidal Cleaner Spray
48. Clorox Healthcare Fuzion cleaner
49. Clorox Healthcare Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaner Disinfectant
50. Clorox Multi-Surface Cleaner + Bleach
51. Clorox Pet Solutions Advanced Formula Disinfecting Stain & Odor Remover
52. Clorox Scentiva Bathroom Disinfectant Foamer
53. Clorox Scentiva Bathroom Disinfecting Foam Cleaner
54. Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner Clinging Bleach Gel
55. Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach
56. Cloroxpro Clorox Total 360 Disinfecting Cleaner
57. Coastwide Professional Hepastat 256
58. Confidence Plus 2
59. Cosa Oxonia Active
60. Don-O-Mite
61. Extra Spearmint Germicidal Detergent and Deodorant
62. Food contact Quat sanitizer
63. Foster First Defense
64. G-5 Sanitizer
65. GASCO Quaternary Sanitizer
66. Germ-A-Cide 64
67. Germicidal Cleaner and Disinfectant Gordon Food Service
68. Kay surface sanitizer
69. Kayquat II
70. Klercide 70/30
71. Lemon Cleaner U S Chemical
72. Lemon Disinfectant American Chemical Systems
73. Lysol bleach mold and mildew remover
74. Lysol bleach multi-purpose cleaner
75. Lysol cling & fresh toilet bowl cleaner
76. Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist
77. Lysol disinfectant spray
78. Lysol lime & rust toilet bowl cleaner
79. Lysol power plus toilet bowl cleaner
80. Lysol power toilet bowl cleaner
81. MAPS- 1 RTU
82. Medline Micro-Kill NQ5
83. Microban 24
84. Microban 24 hour Bathroom Cleaner
85. Microban 24 Hour Multi-Purpose Cleaner
86. Mixmate Germicidal Cleaner
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87. Mixmate Microtech Non-Acid Restroom Cleaner & Disinfectant
88. Mixmate Non-Acid Restroom Cleaner & Disinfectant
89. Multi-purpose neutral ph germicidal detergent
90. Multi-quat Mega-1 Intercon
91. Neutral disinfectant cleaner Ecolab Inc
92. Neutral Disinfectant Cleaner Gordon Food Service
93. Oasis 499 HBV disinfectant
94. One-Step Disinfectant Cleaner
95. OPI Spa Complete
96. OXIVIR
97. OXIVIR 1
98. OXIVIR Tb
99. Oxonia Active
100. Oxycide daily disinfectant cleaner
101. Oxy-team disinfectant cleaner
102. Performex
103. Peroxide disinfectant and glass cleaner RTU Ecolab Inc
104. Peroxide multi-surface cleaner and disinfectant
105. Pine Cleaner Disinfectant
106. Professional Lysol disinfectant spray
107. Purell Food Processing Surface Sanitizer
108. Purell Foodservice Surface Sanitizer
109. Purell Healthcare Surface Disinfectant
110. Purell Multi-Surface Disinfectant
111. Purell Professional Surface Disinfectant
112. Q.T. 3
113. Q.T. Plus
114. Quaternary disinfectant cleaner
115. RTU Disinfectant Cleaner
116. Sani quad food service sanitizer
117. Sani-24 Germicidal Spray
118. Sanicare TBX
119. Sanifect Plus 1
120. Sanifect Plus 2 Fresh N Clean
121. Sani-Hypercide Germicidal Spray
122. Sani-Hypercide Germicidal Spray
123. Sani-Prime Germicidal Spray
124. Sani-Spritz Spray Nyco Products Company
125. Sanitizer/commercial sanitizer Ecolab Inc
126. SC-RTU Disinfectant cleaner
127. Simple Green D Pro 5
128. Stepan Spray Disinfectant Concentrate
129. Super San food service sanitizer
130. Tb disinfectant cleaner ready-to-use
131. TB Quat
132. Tec-quat 128
133. Triple Play Ecolab Inc
134. United 255 Disinfect Plus
135. Virasept
136. Virex
137. VIREX II / 256
138. Wide Range II Non-Acid Disinfectant Washroom Cleaner Concentrate
139. X-Ray Apron Cleaner Disinfectant Bioxco LLC / Mediredi
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