CDC Says You Can Stop Sanitizing Your Home Right Now
The CDC says in its updated guidelines that simple cleaning of surfaces is sufficient for daily protection from the coronavirus. Disinfecting surfaces in your home (such as with bleach) is only necessary if someone with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 has been there in the last 24 hours.
This advice aligns with current understanding of how the coronavirus spreads: mainly through close contact between people and partly through tiny droplets that can float in the air . Capturing the virus from the surface is technically possible, but this is not a common method of transmission.
Difference between disinfection and cleaning
Surface disinfection is the use of a chemical, such as bleach, to kill viruses and other microbes on a surface. Cleaning is when you use soap or detergent to remove dirt that may harbor germs without necessarily killing anything.
At the start of the pandemic, experts speculated that the coronavirus could spread in a similar way to other respiratory illnesses such as influenza, where superficial transmission is fairly common. That’s why companies started doing additional cleaning and disinfection, and the product bleaching video went viral.
But it turns out that surfaces are not the main contributor to the transmission of COVID. It still makes sense to wash your hands and keep surfaces clean, but experts argue that businesses would be better off upgrading ventilation than spending extra time disinfecting surfaces. Disinfecting is still good , it just isn’t a priority anymore.
What the CDC now recommends
New home cleaning guidelines talk about regularly cleaning (rather than disinfecting) heavily touched surfaces – which can happen on a daily basis, but the actual frequency is up to you – and after visitors come to your place.
Disinfection is still recommended if someone with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID has been in your home in the past 24 hours.
The CDC also reminds us that unvaccinated visitors are required to wear masks and that rules regarding who can visit who after vaccination still apply. Sick people should do their best to isolate themselves from the rest of the family , and everyone should continue to wash their hands frequently, including when they return to the house after walking.