Smart Cleaning Routines to Reduce Cold and Flu Transmission at Home

Cold and flu viruses spread when people with the infection cough, sneeze, or talk. Those droplets land on surfaces around them, where the viruses can remain infectious for hours to days, depending on the surface and environment.

You’re likely familiar with the public hotspots where you will find viruses, like door handles, elevator buttons, shopping carts, and other frequently touched surfaces. But at home, you’ll find most germs on light switches, remote controls, kitchen counters, and bathroom faucets.

Aside from your home’s furniture and everyday touchpoints, cellphones can be one of the most unclean surfaces in your house. Cell phones can even harbor more bacteria than toilet seats! Think about how often you touch your phone and then your face.

Flu viruses can survive on hard surfaces, like counters or phones, for up to 2 days. Cold viruses last even longer, sometimes up to a week on surfaces like metal and plastic. While viruses don’t last as long on fabric or paper, they can still be present.

You don’t need to sanitize your entire house every day to help prevent the transmission of colds and flu. Instead, focus on cleaning and sanitizing the places that matter most and do it consistently.

A few minutes of targeted sanitizing to stop viruses from spreading is more effective than hours of random scrubbing.

Daily 5-minute routine

Your daily routine should target the surfaces everyone touches multiple times a day.

Wipe down surfaces in the morning, such as:

• kitchen counter
• coffee maker handle
• touchpoints on faucets
• refrigerator

During the day, clean your phone screen, especially if you’ve been out in public.

Grab some disinfecting wipes in the evening or before bed and clean the main spots where germs may have collected throughout the day, such as light switches, door handles, and the TV remote. In the bathroom, give the faucet handles and toilet handle a quick wipe.

Taking just 5 minutes throughout the day to complete these small actions can make a real difference to your home’s germ load.

Weekly deep clean session

Once a week, expand your cleaning focus to areas that don’t require daily attention but are still touched regularly.

Clean and sanitize shared electronics, like keyboards, tablets, and gaming controllers. Don’t forget about your washing machine and dryer controls, microwave buttons, and other appliance interfaces, as every family member touches these.

You can even focus on your car, wiping down your steering wheel, gear shifter, and radio controls. After all, your car picks up germs from everywhere you go.

Replace kitchen sponges and launder dish towels often. These items stay damp, which helps viruses and bacteria multiply. Wash hand towels in hot water.

When someone’s sick

When illness strikes your home, regular cleaning habits remain important. You may also want to begin germ containment and disinfection in addition to prevention. Disinfecting is different from cleaning. While cleaning removes dirt and debris from surfaces, disinfecting targets the germs that remain after cleaning. To disinfect, apply a diluted bleach solution or use an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered sanitizing product, like a spray or wipe.

Keep the sick person’s stuff separate as much as possible and avoid close contact. Sometimes, it can be helpful to have them stay in their room and designate a specific bathroom for the person who is sick.

Change their bedding frequently, ideally every day, and wash it in the hottest water the fabric can tolerate. Clean and sanitize their bedroom surfaces regularly, focusing on the nightstand, lamp switches, and other frequently touched items.

If they’re using a shared bathroom, clean and disinfect it after each use when possible. At a minimum, wipe down the toilet, sink, and shower handles.

Open windows in their room if the weather allows. Fresh air helps reduce the concentration of viruses in the air.

Germ boosters

Wiping down and disinfecting surfaces is just part of the picture. These habits can further boost your protection:

• Wash your hands properly: Handwashing is still the most important thing you can do. Wash for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water. Do this after being in public, before eating, and after using the bathroom.
• Use hand sanitizer as backup: When you can’t wash your hands, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Keep small bottles in your car, purse, and at work.
• Upgrade your laundry routine: Wash clothes and linens in the hottest water that’s safe for the fabric. If someone’s sick, add a disinfecting laundry product.
• Don’t shake dirty laundry before putting it in the washer: This can spread viruses into the air.
• Time your cleaning right: Wipe down high touch surfaces after household members come home from work, school, or errands. This removes germs they might have picked up while they were out.

You can’t prevent every case of the common cold or the flu, but smart cleaning habits can significantly reduce your family’s risk of picking up and spreading germs. The key is being consistent with high impact actions rather than trying to deep clean everything constantly.

Focus on the surfaces everyone touches most often. Make it a habit, not a chore. These small, regular actions are more effective than occasional marathon cleaning sessions.

Remember that cleaning works best alongside other prevention strategies, like getting vaccinated, washing your hands regularly, and staying home when you’re sick.