When a family member lives with a terminal illness like diabetes, cancer, or another condition that compromises their immune system, the cleanliness of your home becomes incredibly important. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for caregivers to keep their homes immaculate, which is why working with a team of professional cleaners is a worthwhile investment.
Here are two things you should ask your cleaning team to tackle first, and why these objects are particularly dangerous for ill individuals.
1. Bathroom Tubs, Sinks, and Toilets
If you think you and your family members are squeaky clean, think again. A wide variety of germs and microbes live on the surface of your skin, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Corynebacterium.
While most of these germs are harmless, they can be especially dangerous to people who are already immunocompromised. These germs cause issues like severe respiratory infections, skin lesions, and even heart problems.
Bacteria also live inside of the colon, where more than 200 different species flourish. While many of these bacteria are essential for digestion and the proper breakdown of substances, they can create illness when they move outside of the body, which is why bathrooms are particularly dangerous places for anyone who is immunocompromised.
When you use the bathroom, you allow bacteria to exit your body, where they could potentially harbor on or in the toilet, sparking infection in a sick person. Since bathrooms are also the place where people wash their bodies, the bacteria found on skin can also be found in bathtubs, shower basins, and sinks.
To keep these areas safe and usable for the sick members of your household, ask your cleaning team to disinfect all surfaces of your bathroom.
Talk with them about which cleaners they will be using, and if possible, request products with bleach, because this inexpensive compound can kill viruses, mold, and bacteria. Because bleach can be hard on the respiratory system, ask cleaners to ventilate the area thoroughly during cleaning, and leave a window open during the treatment if possible.
2. Fomites
Most people realize that toilets and bathtubs can become grimy pretty quickly, but what about all of those objects people touch during the day that don’t make the cleaning list? Fomites are any inanimate object that is capable of harboring bacteria or viruses, and the sheer quantity of these items around your house might surprise you.
In addition to doorknobs, light switches, refrigerator handles, remote controls, cell phones, drawer pulls, faucets, and even favorite pens act as fomites. Although most people underestimate just how dangerous fomites can be, researchers have discovered that bacteria like MRSA and E-Coli can live for months on these surfaces, while even viruses like influenza can flourish in the right humidity conditions.
Unfortunately, because fomites are rarely targeted by homeowners during routine cleanings, these objects continue to spread illness until they are sanitized.
If someone in your home is immunocompromised, ask professionals to clean and sanitize any object that the sick person might touch, including things like lamp knobs, nightstand drawer pulls, and canes. To find fomites that could harm your loved one, keep track of what they do and where they go at home, and make sure those spaces are deep cleaned on a regular basis.
When you are ready to take on the germs in your home to protect the people you love, give us a call here at Blue Ribbon Cleaning Services for a complimentary estimate. As a family owned and operated business that has been offering house cleaning and window washing since 1996, we have the experience and the know-how to make your home a safe, comfortable place of healing.
