Here are some tips on keeping things “Corona”-clean, including things around the house, your car, and CDC advice for home-based caregiving of those with a confirmed case or under investigation for COVID-19

Around the House

from How to Protection Youself (CDC guidelines) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html

Clean and disinfect

  • Clean AND disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
  • If surfaces are dirty, clean them: Use detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.

To disinfect:
Most common EPA-registered household disinfectants will work. Use disinfectants appropriate for the surface.

Options include:

  • Diluting your household bleach.
    To make a bleach solution, mix:
    • 5 tablespoons (1/3rd cup) bleach per gallon of water
      OR
    • 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water
    Follow manufacturer’s instructions for application and proper ventilation. Check to ensure the product is not past its expiration date. Never mix household bleach with ammonia or any other cleanser. Unexpired household bleach will be effective against coronaviruses when properly diluted.
  • Alcohol solutions.
    Ensure solution has at least 70% alcohol.
  • Other common EPA-registered household disinfectants.
    Products with EPA-approved emerging viral pathogens pdf icon[7 pages]external icon claims are expected to be effective against COVID-19 based on data for harder to kill viruses. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., concentration, application method and contact time, etc.).

Your Car

From Kelly Bluebook: How to Clean Your Car to Reduce the Spread of the Coronavirus https://www.kbb.com/articles/car-advice/how-to-clean-your-car-of-the-coronavirus/?

Can my vehicle get sick from the coronavirus?
Nothing will happen to your car, truck or SUV should the coronavirus get onboard. But if not properly cleaned, your vehicle can become a harbor of all manner of unpleasantness. So we suggest taking bottles of hand sanitizer and packets of disinfecting wipes to wipe down the interior of your car and any other area that could be considered a high-touch area. A good rule of thumb is to clean areas that you contact regularly and to sanitize your hands on an hourly basis.

This applies doubly in the case of rental vehicles, ride-sharing vehicles like Uber and Lyft, share cars, share bikes, and taxis. Be sure to wipe any areas that human hands typically touch. These include door handles, door latches, lock buttons, seat belts and buckles, window buttons, mirrors, radio and climate control buttons and more.

One more bit of advice: We don’t recommend storing a large pump bottle of hand sanitizer in your car. The heat buildup may cause the alcohol in the sanitizer to “boil,” resulting in an expansion of the sanitizer’s bottle. This, in turn, might result in leakage and a mess that will require an extensive cleaning effort. It is a better idea to carry a more manageable-sized bottle, that can be on or near your personal effects, whether in the home, office or on the road.

What’s the best way to clean your vehicle to reduce the presence of coronavirus? Disinfectant wipes work best in your car or SUV’s cabin. It is the cleaner most used by manufacturers of most automotive interiors today. All it takes is a quick wipe to clean most germs and fingerprints. Soap and water will work, too.

We suggest spending extra time on the steering wheel. According to carrentals.com, a steering wheel can have four times the amount of germs found on an average toilet seat. For this reason, we would suggest using disinfecting wipes to clean all the surfaces on the steering wheel. These include the redundant controls for radio, voice control, cruise control, navigation, and paddle shift levers. And don’t forget about the gear selector lever or the turn indicator stalks.

Also clean the door and center console armrests, display screens, cupholders, cubbyholes, air conditioner vents. Don’t forget the door “grab handles.” You touch them more than you realize and are hot spots for germs including the coronavirus. You will very likely be surprised by the amount of dirt your wipes will pick up.

What not to use. We would advise against using any type of bleach or hydrogen peroxide on the vehicle’s interior. Both chemicals can put a welcome end to the coronavirus, but they will also cause damage to the vinyl and plastics used in most modern vehicles today. Under no circumstances should you use any ammonia-based cleaning products. These can be found in “Blue Glass Cleaners.” (You know which we are talking about.) The ammonia breaks down the vinyl on the dashboard, making it sticky when subjected to heat and light. Additionally, to avoid damage to anti-glare coatings, the glass cleaner should not be used on touch display screens.

Finally, if you find yourself without any disinfectant wipes or other cleaners, a good scrubbing with soap and water can actually rid surfaces of coronavirus and other germs. It just may take a little bit longer to effectively clean it properly. Don’t scrub too hard, though, as you might find you are removing some of the surface coatings or dyes.

Wash your hands, often. Finally, we cannot say this enough: Clean your hands regularly. Even after cleaning your vehicle properly, if your hands are dirty, you are putting germs right back onto an already clean surface.

These tips and bits of car cleaning advice will help keep your vehicle more germ-free than if you left it to fend for itself. No amount of cleaning can guarantee you’ll avoid catching a bug, but these suggestions help to minimize the risk. The added bonus is that your car will enjoy its new status as a clean machine.

Caregiving for the Sick

From CDC’s Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Homes and Residential Communities:
Recommended precautions for household members, intimate partners, and caregivers in a nonhealthcare setting1 of A patient with symptomatic laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 OR A patient under investigation
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/guidance-prevent-spread.html Español | 中文

Household members, intimate partners, and caregivers in a nonhealthcare setting may have close contact2 with a person with symptomatic, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 or a person under investigation. Close contacts should monitor their health; they should call their healthcare provider right away if they develop symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, shortness of breath) (see Interim US Guidance for Risk Assessment and Public Health Management of Persons with Potential Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Exposure in Travel-associated or Community Settings.)

Close contacts should also follow these recommendations:

  • Make sure that you understand and can help the patient follow their healthcare provider’s instructions for medication(s) and care. You should help the patient with basic needs in the home and provide support for getting groceries, prescriptions, and other personal needs.
  • Monitor the patient’s symptoms. If the patient is getting sicker, call his or her healthcare provider and tell them that the patient has laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. This will help the healthcare provider’s office take steps to keep other people in the office or waiting room from getting infected. Ask the healthcare provider to call the local or state health department for additional guidance. If the patient has a medical emergency and you need to call 911, notify the dispatch personnel that the patient has, or is being evaluated for COVID-19.
  • Household members should stay in another room or be separated from the patient as much as possible. Household members should use a separate bedroom and bathroom, if available.
  • Prohibit visitors who do not have an essential need to be in the home.
  • Household members should care for any pets in the home. Do not handle pets or other animals while sick.  For more information, see COVID-19 and Animals.
  • Make sure that shared spaces in the home have good air flow, such as by an air conditioner or an opened window, weather permitting.
  • Perform hand hygiene frequently. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains 60 to 95% alcohol, covering all surfaces of your hands and rubbing them together until they feel dry. Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • The patient should wear a facemask when you are around other people. If the patient is not able to wear a facemask (for example, because it causes trouble breathing), you, as the caregiver, should wear a mask when you are in the same room as the patient.
  • Wear a disposable facemask and gloves when you touch or have contact with the patient’s blood, stool, or body fluids, such as saliva, sputum, nasal mucus, vomit, urine.
    • Throw out disposable facemasks and gloves after using them. Do not reuse.
    • When removing personal protective equipment, first remove and dispose of gloves. Then, immediately clean your hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Next, remove and dispose of facemask, and immediately clean your hands again with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Avoid sharing household items with the patient. You should not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding, or other items. After the patient uses these items, you should wash them thoroughly (see below “Wash laundry thoroughly”).
  • Clean all “high-touch” surfaces, such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables, every day. Also, clean any surfaces that may have blood, stool, or body fluids on them.
    • Use a household cleaning spray or wipe, according to the label instructions. Labels contain instructions for safe and effective use of the cleaning product including precautions you should take when applying the product, such as wearing gloves and making sure you have good ventilation during use of the product.
  • Wash laundry thoroughly.
    • Immediately remove and wash clothes or bedding that have blood, stool, or body fluids on them.
    • Wear disposable gloves while handling soiled items and keep soiled items away from your body. Clean your hands (with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer) immediately after removing your gloves.
    • Read and follow directions on labels of laundry or clothing items and detergent. In general, using a normal laundry detergent according to washing machine instructions and dry thoroughly using the warmest temperatures recommended on the clothing label.
  • Place all used disposable gloves, facemasks, and other contaminated items in a lined container before disposing of them with other household waste. Clean your hands (with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer) immediately after handling these items. Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty.
  • Discuss any additional questions with your state or local health department or healthcare provider. Check available hours when contacting your local health department.

Footnotes
1Home healthcare personnel should refer to Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients with Known or Patients Under Investigation for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a Healthcare Setting.
2Close contact is defined as— a) being within approximately 6 feet (2 meters) of a COVID-19 case for a prolonged period of time; close contact can occur while caring for, living with, visiting, or sharing a health care waiting area or room with a COVID-19 case
– or –
b) having direct contact with infectious secretions of a COVID-19 case (e.g., being coughed on).