Find The Right Balance Of Best Practices And Avoid The Urge To Over-Sanitize
Letting your groceries sit in the garage for three days to “kill any virus” doesn’t sound like a solid plan to you? Good news: you are correct! But how far does one need to go in order to protect loved ones from virus exposure after a routine milk, eggs and toilet paper run? Continue reading for some tips to sanitize your groceries that you can easily integrate into your routine.
Want to learn more about sanitation around our house? We have a collection of blog posts that cover every part of the home, to help you keep your family safe. Find those posts right here!
When it comes to getting groceries, the general consensus appears to be that the greatest risk is going into the store in the first place. There you are possibly being exposed to other shoppers who are infected and don’t know it. Still, we all want to be careful and take simple measures that ensure we don’t have to do lockdowns again. So if you’re not ordering online (and even if you are), there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of unwanted microscopic guests entering your home. No need to go to extremes, but take some of this practical advice along on your next shopping trip to quickly sanitize your groceries and safeguard your family from any nasty “surface level” invaders.
Sanitize Your Shopping Cart Handle
Most stores now provide sanitizing wipes, but you might want to carry your own just in case.
Opt For Practicing Good Hand Hygiene.
Instead of hiding your hands, opt for practicing good hand hygiene. Everything a gloved hand touches, touches everything else in your cart. And possibly your face if you inadvertently have an itch to scratch! Use hand sanitizer prior to entering and immediately upon leaving the store. And wash your hands when safely back at home.
Wipe Down Your Counters
Despite all the media hype, the probability of getting infected from a contaminated surface is fairly low according to experts. But it is most prudent to wipe down your counters after unpacking groceries from the store.
Stick To Plain Soap And Water
It might be tempting to wipe all your packaged foods with disinfectant wipes, but it might be better if you stick to plain soap and water. Turns out much of the packaging food items come in is not meant to be treated with disinfectant and could actually contaminate your food.
If you want to go the extra step, you can use disinfectant wipes on cans or other hard plastic containers you bring in from the store.
Rinse Your Fresh Produce And Use A Vegetable Scrubber
But skip the soap, which could cause vomiting and diarrhea if accidentally ingested.
Be Sure To Wash Reusable Bags After Each Use
Toss cloth bags in the washer and wipe plastic ones with a disinfectant product.
Proper Hand washing
Can’t stress it enough, but proper hand washing is just about the most important thing you can do to protect yourself and others. Be sure to wash hands after you’ve put groceries away and washed down your surfaces.
Are you following any of these tips already to sanitize your groceries regularly? Or do you have additional advice? Let us know in the comments!
References
https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-grocery-shopping-guide.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/12/832269202/no-you-dont-need-to-disinfect-your-groceries-but-here-s-to-shop-safely
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/03/19/grocery-shopping-during-the-coronavirus-wash-your-hands-keep-your-distance-and-limit-trips/