#Coronavirus: 5 things you should be disinfecting regularly

It may be cringe-worthy, but there is more bacteria on these items than what you think!

We've all been hearing how important it is to keep our hands sanitised and disinfected through proper washing during the coronavirus pandemic, but what about the things we touch daily and forget about?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), transmission of the novel coronavirus (or COVID-19) occurs via respiratory droplets and based on current evidence, it can persist for hours to days on surfaces and objects made from a variety of materials.

Some things we should clean, especially these days, might come simply as common sense but there are also items easily forgotten about that deserve your attention. As we all know, these aren’t typical times and having a keen sense of cleaning could honestly be the superpower that gets you through.

As compiled from The Every Girl, here are five key items around your house you should be disinfecting regularly.

Cell phones 

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Most of us prance around all day with our phones literally clutched to our sides, as if they’re a vital organ essential for our survival. We have entire virtual lives on these devices, so of course we’re going to carry them around wherever we travel.

That said, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that our phones are one of the dirtiest things we touch — so much so that a study conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine discovered that fecal matter can be found on every one out of six smartphones. Yuck!

Remote controls 

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Netflix and chill? No. Netflix and disinfect. Hours can be taken shuffling through options on what to watch than actually watching something. Don't forget, we often snack on food, then touch our remotes. Not only this, if we blow our noses after pausing our favourite Netflix binge, we also touch our remotes. Point made, time to clean now.

Laptops and computers 

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Laptops devices are where every single finger is engaged and constantly tapping away, inserting bacteria into the crevices of our keyboard and mouse. Granted, many of us are not using them outdoors but good hygiene should be practiced in keeping them sanitised. A recent paper by the Journal of Hospital Infection revealed that human viruses such as SARS, MERS and HCoV can still persist on surfaces such as metal, glass or plastic for up to nine days.

Various counter tops 

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Our kitchen countertops, bathroom shelves, dining and coffee tables are some of the most commonly touched surfaces in our homes and should be sanitised as often as possible - yes, meaning multiple times a day.

The CDC themselves said, “current evidence suggests that novel coronavirus may remain viable for hours to days on surfaces made from a variety of materials,” and that it’s important to make sure you clean and disinfect using EPA-registered disinfectants with labels indicating they are safe for use. Also make sure you take precautions when sanitising, such as wearing gloves and having proper ventilation.

Handbags and wallets

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Any time we go out, these items come with us, whether it be on a walk, grocery run, a trip to the pharmacy or the doctor. We are constantly touching our handbags and wallets to whip out our hand sanitiser, to grab a hair tie, to pay for things, and so much more. HuffPost reported that fabrics and articles of clothing can hold the respiratory droplets that cause the coronavirus to be transmitted, and while these particles can dry out over time, it doesn’t mean this happens quickly.

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