Expert in Cleaning for Health Offers Tips for Protecting Your Home From Flu

April 30, 2009 - PRLog -- With the growing concern about the spread of the swine flu, people are wondering what they can do to avoid contracting the virus. Tom Stewart, owner of Charleston-based residential cleaning company Castle Keepers Inc., which specializes in cleaning for health, offers tips for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces inside your home to decrease your chances of catching illnesses, such as the swine flu.

“The threat really isn’t what is in your home, but what you might bring into your home from the outside, particularly in light of the fact infected people may infect others before they even realize they are sick,” says Stewart, president of Castle Keepers. “While washing your hands and limiting your contact with sick people is of course critical, there are some methods for sanitizing your home that people may not be aware of that can stop the spread of the virus within your home.”  

Stewart offers the following tips for ridding your home of germs:

•   When cleanings surfaces, use a disinfectant and follow the product directions. Many people don’t realize disinfectants only work on a clean surface. So you first have to clean an area to remove dirt and germs, then apply the disinfectant. You also need to let it sit for 10 minutes to take effect; don’t wipe it off as soon as you spray it on.

•   Be careful not to cross-contaminate surfaces when cleaning. Cotton cloths simply pick up germs from one surface and transfer them to another surface. Stewart recommends using a high-quality microfiber towel, such as the PerfectClean brand he uses at his own cleaning company. “The smaller the size of the microfiber, the better job it does of picking up germs and holding onto them,” he says.

•   Viruses, particularly flu viruses, are airborne, so you can easily catch them by touching a surface after someone sneezes or coughs on it. Also, viruses can live on a surface for up to two hours, so Stewart recommends limiting your contact with high-touch points, such as shopping cart handles, door knobs, phones and keyboards. This means using microfiber towels to avoid cross-contamination and disinfecting surfaces on a regular basis.

“We use a special meter to test these kinds of surfaces for germs, and it’s very easy to demonstrate how filthy these high-touch points can be,” says Stewart, also a past president of the Association of Residential Cleaning Services International. “Keyboards are typically dirtier than toilet seats.”

A complete blog post on the topic from Castle Keepers is available on the company’s Squeaky Clean blog at www.castle-keepers.com, and videos demonstrating some of the above techniques are available on the company YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/castlekeepersinc.

About Castle Keepers
Owned by Tom and Janice Stewart, Castle Keepers of Charleston Inc. is a family-owned commercial and residential cleaning business, serving the Charleston, S.C., area. Founded in 1994, the company is committed to customer service and quality while offering the latest advances in cleaning for health. In additional to residential and commercial cleaning, Castle Keepers offers personal assistant services, as well as services for absentee homeowners. For more information, visit www.castle-keepers.com or call 843-572-4757.