Frequently Touched Items in Your Home You Should Clean When Everyone's Sick

Whether it’s the flu, a bad cold or any other viral foe, there are steps to take when someone in your home—or a lot of residents around your town—appear to be sick. Disinfecting commonly touched areas can keep the rest of your household healthy, and if you know that coworkers or others you interact with regularly are sick, simple cleaning tasks can prevent bringing extra germs into your home. Here are the top items to clean when everyone’s sick.

Doorknobs
It may seem like a no-brainer, but every member of your house touches doorknobs multiple times a day, making them a natural germ hot zone. Thankfully, door knobs are also one of the easiest things to disinfect, so do it often.

Car Keys
No matter how often you wash your hands when you’re out and about, it’s likely you will bring germs home with you, or at least transfer them onto the things you first touch when entering your car or home. When was the last time you disinfected your keys? Your keys are an item you likely use every day and bring into your home, making them a prime culprit for bringing outside germs in.

Remotes
Whether you are a binge-watcher or just watch TV occasionally, you and your household likely interact with your remote often. This is especially true when someone is sick. During and after an illness, be sure to wipe down all remotes with disinfecting wipes.

Purse, Backpacks and Gym Bags
Any item that you travel with frequently is going to collect germs and grime. Purses and backpacks follow you from store to work and back again, and that time is spent sitting in shopping carts, on the bus or benches at the park. Gym bags travel with you to sweaty locker rooms and public gyms. These high-traffic areas tend to collect a lot of germs that you then bring into your home. Be sure to take a moment or two to wipe, or even launder, your bags.

Keeping your commonly touched items clean and disinfected will do a lot to prevent the spread of illnesses.