During the period of regular epidemic prevention and control, regular household disinfection becomes part of people’s daily life. So, do vegetables and fruits need to be disinfected? Should you disinfect your clothes when you get home from an outing? CDC experts take a look at what misconceptions should be avoided in home disinfection.
Spraying disinfectants on fruits and vegetables?
Usually, the outer packaging of purchased fruits and vegetables can be disinfected, but the fruits and vegetables themselves only need to be cleaned and disinfection with chemical disinfectants is not recommended to avoid affecting food safety and taste. If you do need to disinfect, you can use a disinfectant purchased through regular channels with a vegetable and fruit record, soak for 10 to 30 minutes according to the recommended use concentration in the instructions, and then rinse with running water to remove the residual disinfectant.
Spray disinfectant on the human body, on clothing?
In general, outer clothing has a low chance of carrying the new coronavirus. When residents in low-risk areas return home, it is sufficient to hang the changed clothes in a ventilated area. Spraying the body directly with chemical disinfectants can cause irritation and damage on the one hand, and on the other hand, the spraying time is too short and the amount of spraying is too small to be effective. The right thing to do is to wash your hands properly at home and change into clean clothes.
Is the higher the concentration of disinfectant better?
Disinfectant solutions should be properly configured according to the concentration of the corresponding object. A higher concentration of disinfectant is not better. A higher concentration of disinfectant usually means more side effects such as corrosiveness and irritation, and more work to remove residues.
Using humidifiers indoors for “preventive air disinfection”?
On the one hand, disinfection is difficult to guarantee, and on the other hand, people are vulnerable to disinfectants, such as respiratory irritation, burns and allergies. For indoor disinfection, it is sufficient to maintain regular ventilation.
Principles for disinfection at home and in the office
The principle of cleanliness as the main focus and disinfection as a supplement
As a general rule, clean the environment well and disinfect the links and objects that are really at risk; disinfection should be carried out under the premise of completing cleaning.
The principle that physical methods are primary and chemical methods are secondary
Prioritize the use of disinfection methods including window ventilation, mechanical ventilation, heating and boiling, sunlight exposure, etc.
The principle of combining preventive disinfection with disinfection at any time
Do daily disinfection of all kinds of items, elevators, handrails, bathrooms, etc., 1 to 2 times a day. In case of contamination, disinfection is carried out at any time and hand hygiene is always done.
The principle of disinfection intensity in line with the level of risk
The frequency of disinfection can be higher for frequently touched items, and the disinfection concentration is appropriately increased and the disinfection time is appropriately extended for heavily contaminated objects.
The principle of good personal protection during disinfection
Not only to prevent pathogen infection, but also to prevent irritation and damage to people from disinfection solution.
