Where to shop the best household cleaners for limiting the spread of germs

In The Know

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No matter the time of year — but especially now with the spread of the coronavirus — it’s important to take care of yourself. And part of that is keeping your home, hands and belongings clean.

While washing your hands and disinfecting your most-used items (like your phone) might seem obvious, there are a few other best cleaning practices you can use to help limit the spread of illness.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the current coronavirus can live on a variety of surfaces for hours to days. However, cleaning those surfaces and disinfecting them “is a best practice measure for prevention of COVID-19 and other viral respiratory illnesses in households and community settings.”

One thing to keep in mind is that there is a difference between cleaning and disinfecting. Cleaning simply means removing dirt and other impurities from a surface, which in turn, can help remove germs. Disinfecting, on the other hand, doesn’t remove germs, it kills them. So, you should first clean a surface, then disinfect it; remove the germs, then kill whatever is left.

The CDC recommends wearing gloves to clean and disinfect, especially if the area you’re sanitizing was potentially exposed to someone with the illness. “Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces daily in household common areas (e.g. tables, hard-backed chairs, doorknobs, light switches, remotes, handles, desks, toilets, sinks),” they wrote in their latest report on cleaning and disinfecting.

You can use natural remedies like mixing water with cleaning vinegar or white vinegar, use diluted bleach on appropriate surfaces, or use traditional cleaning supplies to give you peace of mind during these difficult times. The EPA has even created a list of approved cleaners.

Unfortunately with concerns rising over the coronavirus, several stores have been selling out of these products. We did some digging though and found everything you need that’s still available. Shop household cleaners that will clean and disinfect your home below.

All prices are subject to change and items could sell out based on the merchant’s inventory.

Disinfectants and multi-surface cleaners


Credit: Getty Images

Talking to the TODAY Show, Joseph Fair, a virologist, epidemiologist and NBC News Science contributor, said that common cleaners with bleach, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or ammonia as their active ingredient can help kill off germs from infectious viruses.

“With the sprays, you can get more penetration. With the wipes, they’re more convenient. The big thing is you want to put them on the surface and you want to let them dry on the surface. Don’t wipe them in, let them dry,” Fair said.

“Just spray as much as you can, let it dry. If it’s been there longer than 10 minutes, they say 10 minutes is kind of the maximum, you can go ahead and dry it off,” he added.

Bleach


Credit: Getty Images

You can use bleach to clean your home, as long as you properly dilute it. To do so, the CDC recommends mixing five tablespoons (1/3rd cup) bleach per gallon of water or four teaspoons bleach per quart of water.

Paper towels


Credit: Getty Images

While it’s important to be environmentally friendly, using paper towels to clean is helpful for reducing the amount of germs. Once you’re done cleaning and disinfecting, throw out the paper towel and throw out the germs.

If you enjoyed this article, In The Know also covered where to find all your household essentials online.

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