Anago Cleaning Systems: Lifestyle Changes of Note Due to COVID-19

You’ve read it now a million times: COVID-19 has changed our lives forever, or at least for the foreseeable future and beyond. As we all navigate our lives back into a state of normalcy, there are many things we’ve adopted from the COVID-19 experience into our “new normal.” In addition to those, we want to offer several other areas of “cleaning in your new normal” that should move toward the top of your daily/monthly cleaning regimens. Although a lot of conversations surrounding cleaning have focused on businesses and public spaces, please remember that your home is just as important – if not more – to maintain cleanliness. More often than not, where you travel outside your homes will follow you back. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Shoes!

No longer should you only worry about a chewed-up piece of gum or dog crap getting on the bottom of your shoes. Whether stiletto heels or flip flops, your shoes come into contact with every bit of grime, dirt, and bacteria outside your home. From your sidewalks to stores, car floor mats, and everything in-between, your shoes come in contact with it all. The best defense is to take off your shoes before entering your home. There are many cultures, including the Japanese and Vietnamese, where it is considered rude to enter a person’s home or small business without first removing your shoes. If leaving your shoes outside is not a good option for your living situation, at least consider taking them off immediately inside and leaving them in the foyer. This isolates the area for easier cleaning and helps maintain a clean-living space. If you are extra motivated, keep a can of Lysol near your front door and spray the bottom of your shoes each time you come back home.

Clothing!

This one is tricky and perhaps doesn’t fall under the same scrutiny as shoes. Depending on your activity, changing clothes once you are home for the day/night might be a good idea. If your outside activities include sitting in public spaces, opening doors with the cuff of your sleeve (like many do now), or are out for an extended time, then changing your clothes might be a good idea. Put them in the washing machine (or dirty clothes hamper) as soon as possible and keep these items in an area that is not near your clean clothes. You don’t have to wash them immediately but keep them isolated until you are ready to wash a load of clothes.

Since you are adopting new cleaning safety protocols, here are a few other items to consider.

• Toothbrushes – don’t wait until your toothbrush is entirely bristle-free and ragged before buying a new one. Think about it. This is the tool used to clean your teeth and mouth. Change this out frequently and make sure you cover it when not in use. All kinds of crap exist in your bathroom (literally), and you don’t want microscopic bacteria and other disgusting things floating around to land on your uncovered toothbrush – or anything else for that matter. The same goes for bathmats, hand towels, and toilet brushes. Make sure you are replenishing these items and keeping them clean.
• Water and air filters – change these regularly! The job of these items is to filter our elements you do not need to breathe or ingest. Bacteria and harmful spores can penetrate these items if they are not regularly changed. Follow manufacturer recommendations, maybe even changing a month before the recommended time frame.

Here at Anago, we want everybody to be as safe as possible while outside in public spaces or while at home. It helps all of us and reduces the number of contaminants that can negatively affect our livelihoods.