# Cleaning and disinfecting supplies



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

CBC has an article of an increase in poisonings and other accidents with cleaning supplies at home:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid-19-accidental-poisoning-cleaning-products-1.5552779

It looks like everyone stocked up at home and is, apparently, *wasting* cleaning/disinfecting supplies on unnecessary cleaning at home. You don't have to constantly clean your home. You really only have to sanitize things at the boundary to the outside world. I only use hand sanitizer when I'm outside; there's no point to hand sanitizer at home.

Then, when you get home, wash your hands. A friend of mine who's a nurse reminded me to wash my face too. If you've been in a high risk setting, take a shower when you get home. If there are things from outside that you're bringing inside, then sanitize those. But once you've crossed from the outside zone into your (safe) inside zone, you don't have to keep disinfecting everything.

For example, I see no point to constantly disinfecting your countertops. And how much of these supplies are people going through? I have one spray bottle of "Microban" brand disinfectant (the only one I could find) and I've been using that one bottle this whole time... and it's still nearly totally full!


----------



## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

Some of it might be cultural.....I grew up in a house that smelled like bleach on Saturday’s.
We have always regularly used disinfectants in the Bathroom and kitchen. I know my wife and her family have a huge fear of meat cross contamination. I’m always getting trouble for not taking the precautions she deems necessary (outside of pandemic times). We use our countertops to roll out doughs occasionally. I guess even with the common cold and having young children, we’ve been programmed to constantly disinfectant high touch areas.


----------



## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

Money172375 said:


> Some of it might be cultural.....I grew up in a house that smelled like bleach on Saturday’s.
> We have always regularly used disinfectants in the Bathroom and kitchen. I know my wife and her family have a huge fear of meat cross contamination. I’m always getting trouble for not taking the precautions she deems necessary (outside of pandemic times). We use our countertops to roll out doughs occasionally. I guess even with the common cold and having young children, we’ve been programmed to constantly disinfectant high touch areas.


that being said, we ran out of Lysol and my wife said we had the container for about a year. For countertops we use a lysol branded disinfecting cleaner. We’ve had a 4 litre jug for at least 2 years.

for those that are interested in disinfectants, original Pine-sol is a true disinfectant and much easier to find than Lysol products.


----------



## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

james4beach said:


> It looks like everyone stocked up at home and is, apparently, *wasting* cleaning/disinfecting supplies on unnecessary cleaning at home. You don't have to constantly clean your home. You really only have to sanitize things at the boundary to the outside world. I only use hand sanitizer when I'm outside; there's no point to hand sanitizer at home.



Something else that you bring into the home that has a good chance of being infected is your shoes.

All those "speaking moistly" droplets in the air that we avoid in public with masks eventually drop to the floor and are picked up by the soles of our shoes. Think about grocery shopping and how the floors must be covered in viruses.

Sanitizing your shoes is something I have read about a number of times.

ltr


----------



## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

like_to_retire said:


> Something else that you bring into the home that has a good chance of being infected is your shoes.
> 
> All those "speaking moistly" droplets in the air that we avoid in public with masks eventually drop to the floor and are picked up by the soles of our shoes. Think about grocery shopping and how the floors must be covered in viruses.
> 
> ...


Probably a good time to adopt a habit I have followed for years, since living in SE Asia. Take off your shoes and leave them outside.


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Yes I agree, the shoes are filthy and risky.

I've always removed my shoes when entering the home. Pretty common in most cultures. I would never wear my outdoor footwear past the front entrance.


----------



## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Money172375 said:


> that being said, we ran out of Lysol and my wife said we had the container for about a year. For countertops we use a lysol branded disinfecting cleaner. We’ve had a 4 litre jug for at least 2 years.
> 
> for those that are interested in disinfectants, original Pine-sol is a true disinfectant and much easier to find than Lysol products.


I had a big thing of Lysol too and have been going through it to make my wipes. However, I read Pine Sol and Mr Clean are not on the list that kills COVID. I having been saving my Lysol and Clorex for when I go out, and using Pine Sole, Mr Clean OR my bleach mixture for inside the house (not at the same time)


----------



## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

@james4beach Nice thread James. I have been doing a lot of reading on this, and trying to work out the system at my house and when we go out. We had a lot of cleaners before, but my former housecleaner used to do it all. If I may, I will post up my 'system' or method for cleaning and disinfecting.

I have the following for when I go out, it's on my 'on the go' pandemic pack items:

Mask with extra filters for when I am breathing 'moistly' (no further discussion needed)
Gloves - I only use this if I am going to be handling a lot of items such as a grocery shopping. It makes it easier for me to disinfect my gloves than my hands after every item
2 Extra plastic bags: to dispose of gloves, wipes and garbage and 1 to put my mask in for washing
Lysol wipes for anything that needs a wipe down
Lysol cleaner (in a travel bottle)as the sprays the covers larger surfaces better, I use this in conjunction with the wipes, but also have extra paper towels
Hand sanitizer for my gloves or hands
Rubbing alcohol (in a spray bottle) - for my phone screen if I have to take it out in public, I spray it down before I put it back in my purse
I have this in a little pouch, so I can just grab and go now.

My cleaning before it comes in the house is:

Items all taken out of the bags, and bags put in 'quarantine' for at least a week for later use. I try to 'quarantine' as much as I can. This could be groceries, mail, deliveries, anything that can wait.
Items that I need prior to my 'quarantine' period or needs to put away right away (perishables and frozen goods) I will try to remove or change outside packing by putting in new bags, wash, or disinfect in that order.
Items and hands get washed before we use them with just regular soap and water, if feasible on the items

For over all cleaning and disinfecting:

Shoes never come in the house. The bottoms do get sprayed with a bleach water mix when I remember, but I don't do it right away as I usually using Lysol to get the other stuff in the house.
Reusable items safety items (masks, filters, gloves, etc) get put in a plastic bag first. Then dumped into a wash container (a salad spinner in my case) at the door and washed and then hung and dried.
Hands get washed and face but usually my face is pretty well covered.
If I have been out for a long time or feel I have been moistly breathed on or spoken too, my clothes get throw off in laundry (which is at the same door I am disinfecting)

Inside cleaning is the same stuff we have used prior to COVID. We save the Lysol for outside, but Pine Sol and Mr Clean, I have lots so just use that up. We have a plan that if one of us gets sick, will use a bleach: water 1:9 ratio to clean surfaces to reduce spread to the rest of the family. I don't use this outside because I sometimes spray the Lysol on the handles and bleach will bleach my cloths. 

I am sure I have over complicated this as I was trying to come up with a system that allowed me to use the right cleaners under the right scenario as certain products are scarce, and I don't want extra chemicals on the stuff my family uses. Hopefully this helps.


----------



## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

Here is the list. COVID-19: List of hard-surface disinfectants authorized for use against coronavirus - Canada.ca

Pine-sol is included but I believe it’s only the original (brown golden) version. It will say it kills 99% on the label. I incorrectly purchased the purple Pinesol in panic, on our first trip after quarantine. I don’t see Mr. Clean on the list.

keep in mind, most disinfectants need to stay on the surface for 10 mins for them to work as advertised. Read your labels to confirm.

and keep in mind.....most “cleaners” (all purpose/multi-purpose) on the shelves are not true disinfectants. Rwder to the site above for guidance (it’s updated regularly)


----------



## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Money172375 said:


> Here is the list. COVID-19: List of hard-surface disinfectants authorized for use against coronavirus - Canada.ca
> 
> Pine-sol is included but I believe it’s only the original (brown golden) version. It will say it kills 99% on the label. I incorrectly purchased the purple Pinesol in panic, on our first trip after quarantine. I don’t see Mr. Clean on the list.
> 
> ...


I didn't see the Pine-sol. It had Pine Clean, which may or may not be the same. I have a bottle of the original (brownish) and couple of other bottles with different colors (green, purple, yellow) liquid and none of the DIN matched. I had all of these because our house cleaner would pick up cleaners and forget that we already had some. Happy that she had two bottles of Lysol in the mix too. 

I do realize that these are just guidance. I am trying everything I can to reduce risk as help my elderly parents and need to take extra precautions.


----------



## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

Plugging Along said:


> I didn't see the Pine-sol. It had Pine Clean, which may or may not be the same. I have a bottle of the original (brownish) and couple of other bottles with different colors (green, purple, yellow) liquid and none of the DIN matched. I had all of these because our house cleaner would pick up cleaners and forget that we already had some. Happy that she had two bottles of Lysol in the mix too.
> 
> I do realize that these are just guidance. I am trying everything I can to reduce risk as help my elderly parents and need to take extra precautions.


my bad. I saw the “pine”. I think they are different. I did for sure see Pine-sol Talked about somewhere else. I checked their website. They claim to kill 99.9% of “germs” including influenza a, but I guess the cdn feds don’t approve it.


----------



## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Mukhang pera said:


> Probably a good time to adopt a habit I have followed for years, since living in SE Asia. Take off your shoes and leave them outside.


Only really practical if you have a weather-proof area to keep your shoes, unless you want shoes full of snow in January.


----------



## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Money172375 said:


> my bad. I saw the “pine”. I think they are different. I did for sure see Pine-sol Talked about somewhere else. I checked their website. They claim to kill 99.9% of “germs” including influenza a, but I guess the cdn feds don’t approve it.


I compared the activity ingredient on the list with my pine sol, there were different. I will just keep using it for inside until it’s done.


----------



## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

andrewf said:


> Only really practical if you have a weather-proof area to keep your shoes, unless you want shoes full of snow in January.


I fully expected someone too make that point. 

We have a well-covered porch, so snow or rain filling is not an issue. However, I'll admit to not feeling all warm and fuzzy about donning frozen footwear during the occasional freezing weather we see here in winter. So, sometimes we bend the rules a bit and doff footwear outside the door, but park it on a mat inside for overnight.


----------



## :) lonewolf (Feb 9, 2020)

Mukhang pera said:


> Probably a good time to adopt a habit I have followed for years, since living in SE Asia. Take off your shoes and leave them outside.


The neighbours dog likes to wear shoes left outside the door. Though they seam to never to return them. Must get buried with the bones in the flower garden. Maybe that is why some countries eat dogs cheaper then sending to dog prison.


----------



## :) lonewolf (Feb 9, 2020)

Going to crazy with cleaning weakens the immune system plus destroys the good germs (correct name ?) that fight the bad.

Just like there is no way the government can control the temp of the earth to .5 degrees. There is no way the government can control the spread of germs. No wonder they have us all locked down they are power tripping.

Do you really think they can just turn on the economy like a light switch & it will turn on ? The longer its off the longer to get going.

These guys think everyone can just stop producing & just print & hand out money & we will prosper


----------



## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

andrewf said:


> Only really practical if you have a weather-proof area to keep your shoes, unless you want shoes full of snow in January.


I have never worn shoes inside my home in my entire life. I thought that was the case with most if not all Canadians. In the UK, the opposite is the case, most if not all wear their shoes in their homes.

Our shoes are put on and taken off in the breezeway between the house and garage. It is really just another part of the house separated by a door from the kitchen and a door from the garage as well as an outside door at each end of the breezeway. It's also heated.


----------



## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

Not to make light of the situation, but I wonder if there will be a spike of environmental allergies in the next few years as a second order effect. It was speculated that the increased usage of cleaning products, either due to the chemicals or increased cleanliness, has adversely affected children's immune systems which made them more susceptible to allergies.

Now that people are increasing their cleaning habits, it might end up increasing this sort of interaction.

Regarding shoes, well, don't most houses have a foyer where you can take off your shoes/boots?


----------



## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

bgc_fan said:


> Not to make light of the situation, but I wonder if there will be a spike of environmental allergies in the next few years as a second order effect. It was speculated that the increased usage of cleaning products, either due to the chemicals or increased cleanliness, has adversely affected children's immune systems which made them more susceptible to allergies.
> 
> Now that people are increasing their cleaning habits, it might end up increasing this sort of interaction.
> 
> Regarding shoes, well, don't most houses have a foyer where you can take off your shoes/boots?


I've always asked myself where did all these allergies in children 'suddenly' come from? As a youngster, I don't recall anyone I knew in school having allergies other than hay fever perhaps. A peanut allergy was unheard of. It seems in the last few generations, allergies of all kinds have suddenly popped up.


----------



## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

Longtimeago said:


> I've always asked myself where did all these allergies in children 'suddenly' come from? As a youngster, I don't recall anyone I knew in school having allergies other than hay fever perhaps. A peanut allergy was unheard of. It seems in the last few generations, allergies of all kinds have suddenly popped up.


Lots of theories, but it's probably a combination of a number of factors: environmental, increased hygiene practices, changing diets, etc. I doubt it can really be pinned down to a single reason.
Why the world is becoming more allergic


----------



## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Longtimeago said:


> I've always asked myself where did all these allergies in children 'suddenly' come from? As a youngster, I don't recall anyone I knew in school having allergies other than hay fever perhaps. A peanut allergy was unheard of. It seems in the last few generations, allergies of all kinds have suddenly popped up.


They came from people actually getting tested now. Would be interesting to see stats on how many of those "positive" tests are actually serious, as in need for medication if one was exposed to the allergen. 

I know people that are diagnosed with a gluten allergy but eat it on occasion will little to no effect. I know of one other that had a positive reaction on a scratch test for beef. They didn't give it up, have been eating beef for years and are fine.


----------



## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Longtimeago said:


> I have never worn shoes inside my home in my entire life. I thought that was the case with most if not all Canadians ....


Nothing scientific but it's about 60% that don't and about 40% that do of my family/friends/neighbours etc.



Longtimeago said:


> I've always asked myself where did all these allergies in children 'suddenly' come from? As a youngster, I don't recall anyone I knew in school having allergies other than hay fever perhaps. A peanut allergy was unheard of ...


Had classmates in basically all levels of school, except maybe kindergarden (wasn't paying attention  ) with peanut allergies. It goes back forty years for me as friends of the family had everyone in the family with different combinations of allergies.

Maybe you were lucky or didn't notice?


From my POV, it's more an increase of numbers versus what to you is a sudden appearance.


Cheers


----------



## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

cainvest said:


> They came from people actually getting tested now. Would be interesting to see stats on how many of those "positive" tests are actually serious, as in need for medication if one was exposed to the allergen ...


Maybe ... but then again, I can recall friends of the family taking medication back in the '90's to be able to function so there's also non-life threatening flavours that can have a big impact.

There's also those who carry an epi pen for things like stings where some stings are fine while others have reactions, requiring the epi pen.


Cheers


----------



## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Eclectic12 said:


> There's also those who carry an epi pen for things like stings where some stings are fine while others have reactions, requiring the epi pen.


There are no doubt people with serious reactions, like those that required to carry an epipen, always have been. I just wonder how many fall into the "not serious reaction" category and only stay clear of allergens (peanuts, gluten, etc) because of a positive scratch test result.


----------



## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Longtimeago said:


> I have never worn shoes inside my home in my entire life. I thought that was the case with most if not all Canadians. In the UK, the opposite is the case, most if not all wear their shoes in their homes.
> 
> Our shoes are put on and taken off in the breezeway between the house and garage. It is really just another part of the house separated by a door from the kitchen and a door from the garage as well as an outside door at each end of the breezeway. It's also heated.


Well, I think it is 'normal' to take your shoes off in the entry area. Not sure it is 'nornal' to have a quasi-inside/outside area to store your shoes. Most Canadians don't wear shoes in the house (with the legalistic exception of in the entry area).


----------



## GreatLaker (Mar 23, 2014)

Many cleaners I have seen including Lysol wipes and Mr Clean state the surface should be kept wet for between 4 and 10 minutes to properly disinfect. That's a long time to keep a surface wet, even if Justin is standing over it speaking moistly.

Spray Nine states on the label that it takes 45 seconds to disinfect. Luckily I have an almost full 2 litre container. That's what I use at home, saving my disinfectant wipes for use outside the home like shopping carts before I use them.

When I go shopping I take my payment card and any loyalty cards and tags and put them in a small ziplock. That way I don't have to touch my phone, wallet or keys when I am shopping (keyless entry/ignition). I sanitize my hands before going to checkout, and again before I get in my car.

I hate wearing shoes in the house, and don't understand how anyone can do it. But in my experience many Americans and western Canadians wear shoes in the home.


----------



## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

Eclectic12 said:


> Maybe ... but then again, I can recall friends of the family taking medication back in the '90's to be able to function so there's also non-life threatening flavours that can have a big impact.
> 
> There's also those who carry an epi pen for things like stings where some stings are fine while others have reactions, requiring the epi pen.
> 
> ...


Back in the 90s isn't far back Eclectic when you are in your 70s. 'Back in the day' to me is the 50s,60s.70s.

Maybe people died from a bee sting back then, I don't know, but I sure didn't hear about any. Epi pens certainly didn't exist.

I recall being on a backpacking trip down in the Grand Canyon in the 80s and one of the group got bit by a scorpion. She was freaking out etc. When you are in a wilderness location like that, you obviously can't just call for help (pre-cellphone days). So everyone went to sleep for the night and she was told, 'if you wake up, you're alive. If you don't, we'll make sure we bury you with heavy rocks over you so that the critters can't dine on you.' LOL


----------



## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

I've been washing my hands a bit more, otherwise no change when I'm at home. I've never really used products like Lysol, except very sparingly. I did buy some Lysol wipes a couple months ago, but I've still got half the container left.

I also don't take off my shoes unless they're visibly dirty. There's no room to keep shoes at the entryway, so I would have to carry them into the bedroom. If they're really wet, I'll put them in the laundry room to dry out. But there's definitely no space in the common areas to have a bunch of shoes laying around. It's the same with most people I know who are living with limited space due to the housing situation.

I go a bit more crazy with cleaning when I'm at work. I usually wipe down the high touch surfaces with the Lysol wipes and clean the table tops with a regular surface cleaner. Apparently the Coronavirus is very easy to kill. You don't need products like Lysol, regular cleaners work fine. The wipes are more convenient, but I find they dry out quickly and you end up using a lot of them.


----------



## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Longtimeago said:


> Back in the 90s isn't far back Eclectic when you are in your 70s. 'Back in the day' to me is the 50s,60s.70s ...


"What is food to one, to another is rank poison" is a line from a poem of Titus Lucretius Cato (98–55 BC).
There's 17th century case reports ... fatal anaphylaxis from eating mussels/lobsters in 1798.

Scientific investigation is reported to have started in 1921.

If it's not happening ... I would think it would be difficult to study. 




Longtimeago said:


> ... Maybe people died from a bee sting back then, I don't know, but I sure didn't hear about any. Epi pens certainly didn't exist ...


Sure. Keep in mind that the existence of the Epi pen does not tell us about the existence of allergies. It is a simple autoinjector for the drug ephinephrine, that has been in medical use since 1905. I can find reference to epinephrine being used to treat anaphylaxis in the sixties. 




Longtimeago said:


> ... she was told, 'if you wake up, you're alive. If you don't, we'll make sure we bury you with heavy rocks over you so that the critters can't dine on you.' LOL


Not much comfort for her. 


Cheers


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

nathan79 said:


> I go a bit more crazy with cleaning when I'm at work. I usually wipe down the high touch surfaces with the Lysol wipes and clean the table tops with a regular surface cleaner. Apparently *the Coronavirus is very easy to kill*. You don't need products like Lysol, regular cleaners work fine. The wipes are more convenient, but I find they dry out quickly and you end up using a lot of them.


That's my sense too... the virus is pretty easy to kill on surfaces. One reason I think all the Lysol is excessive is that you can clean a surface just by using soap, and some wet paper towels! Soap up the surface a bit, wipe it a few times, clean with paper towels, throw them away.

That's what I'm doing on countertops in the kitchen. Soapy solution and paper towels. That's much less toxic than things like Lysol or chlorine beach. So I still suspect people are going a bit overboard with all the cleaning at home, and it's really not healthy to breathe in fumes from lysol sprays or bleach.

But with objects brought into the house, I do wipe them down with some kind of disinfectant.


----------



## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

james4beach said:


> But with objects brought into the house, I do wipe them down with some kind of disinfectant.


Depending on the objects, you can just leave them in the garage, or other secure area for a couple of days while the virus dies. I believe it can survive on cardboard and other soft materials for about 24 hrs.


----------



## :) lonewolf (Feb 9, 2020)

The central banks are loving it making the sheep to scared to use cash. New world order crypto on its way unless people open their eyes.


----------



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

lonewolf, I also hate the anti-cash movement (personally I love the freedom and anonymity of cash) but COVID-19 is real, and it really can kill us.

At least temporarily, it makes sense to avoid cash. I'm using the credit card tap payment for everything. Don't need crypto currencies.. CCs are perfectly good.

I'll switch back to cash soon enough.


----------



## :) lonewolf (Feb 9, 2020)

It is not a real pandemic it is a plandemic


----------

