Coronavirus safety tips: From car steering to light switches, 9 things you probably are not cleaning in your house

We are in Unlock phase one and most of us are either travelling to office, to hometowns or just driving to fetch daily essentials. But have you ever realised how dangerous your car steering can be if you do not sanitize it regularly. Steering is the first place you touch after touching anything else in the market and it is close enough to your nose to breathe in this air-borne virus. It is also not one of those things you automatically think of sanitizing because cars are parked away from your house. But before the steering steers you away from a healthy life, remember to sanitize it before and after you use it.

About 90% of those who have started jogging, running or simply walking to beat the stress or mundane life we all have been leading, must be using headphones as the source of their entertainment. But how many times have you thought of sanitizing or cleaning it? Coronavirus can sit on any surface for hours and it could be your headphones! So, do not forget to sanitize your headphones regularly.

Television or AC remote is one of those communal items in the house that is home to various bacteria and viruses simply because cleaning a remote is something that is not done regularly in a household. Everyone who touches the remote can expose the device to a possible infection. And you have to steer clear from this. So, do not avoid cleaning your remotes.

We often clean the bedsheets and pillow covers but how often do you clean your pillows? Not enough times. Pillows are home to several kinds of dust, bacteria, virus, sweat, moulds etc and hence it is very important to clean them. Since most of the pillows are machine-wash friendly, take a day out to give your pillows a nice bath.

Light switches are one of the highest touchpoints in the house and least clean. While you are dusting your furniture, pay some attention to these switches that hang on becoming one of the most touched surfaces of the day and housing enough bacteria to make you sick. Also, do not forget to sanitize the bell switch outside your house which is touched by delivery boys, househelp and several other people who are or will be visiting your house.

After encouraging cashless transactions in the lockdown phase, we all have been using our debit and credit cards for any kind of physical or online purchase. The cards touch several surfaces, our hands, shopkeepers’ hands etc. and become one of the most infectious surfaces. You need to not only clean but sanitize them regularly to avoid any kind of contamination.

We all have become cautious for sanitizing our groceries and cleaning our vegetables thoroughly. Most of us leave the groceries and vegetables unattended at least for 24 hours to reduce the chances of infection and others wash vegetables with vinegar. But while doing all this, did you forget to wash the bag you used to get those veggies? Probably yes. Leave that bag unattended and untouched for a minimum of 48 hours and wash it every other day. It is probably one of the most infectious things in your house right now!

All the high touchpoints in the house need special attention and microwave buttons are definitely on the list. Since the device is operated by everyone in the house, including your househelps, it becomes important to sanitize the buttons and handles everyday. If your microwave is a part of the kitchen, do not forget to do this while all the gas knobs are off and the microwave is switched off. Using sanitizer in the kitchen while an active gas knob can be dangerous, even life-threatening.

Most of the Indian households protect their refrigerator handles with a cloth or a cover. It is advisable that you avoid making use of them keeping in mind the current situation but if you still want to keep it that way, make sure you wash it daily in a sanitizing solution. For those who can remove the cover or do not use it at all, remember to sanitize the handles often since it is also a multiple-human touchpoint.