This year’s flu season has been particularly rough. You never know what next year's will bring, either. No one wants to get sick, but sometimes you just can’t help it. However, you can take steps to reduce your chances of getting sick. By living in sanitary conditions, you can often cut the
chances that the flu or any other illnesses will beckon. How can you do so?
Keeping Your Home Sanitary
No one wants to think of their home as dirty or unhealthy. However, germs can easily enter the house no matter what you do to ward them off. Still, if you work to keep a sanitary home environment, you can reduce (though not eliminate) threats. That’s one less place where your family can feel at-risk of catching germs. The outside world is bad enough.
If someone gets sick, keep a few practical steps in mind:
- Encourage them to seek medical care. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, this might be as simple as taking cold medicine. Always go to the doctor if needed. Follow all doctors recommendations for medication or other treatment to the letter.
- Keep a sick person isolated from other members of the family and keep visitors to the home to a minimum. You should let the visitors know that there’s sickness in the house.
Don't forget, even when everyone is healthy, you can still take steps to keep the environment clean.
- Take out the garbage regularly. This helps move spoiled or contaminated items out.
- Wipe down hard surfaces with bleach-based cleaners or another form of disinfectant. Always clean up thoroughly after cooking or completing maintenance jobs around the home.
- Wash clothes, bedding and other fabrics regularly. If left dirty, these items can become molded, or nesting places for bed bugs, fleas, ticks and more. You should also have your furniture and carpet cleaned annually.
- Watch your pets. Make sure they don’t track dirt, feces or pests into the home. Clean out litter boxes, wash pet toys and beds, and administer flea, tick and heartworm treatments.
- Family members should wash their hands after being outside, eating or doing other dirty activities.
Also, by keeping the house itself in good working order, you can keep it healthy as well.
- If the roof leaks or the foundations crack, this might allow in pests, moisture or mold. Sealing the home can help keep good air in the house and keep bad germs out.
- Replace your home’s air filters. Clean air is one of the best ways to keep your home sanitary. Certain special air filters might help keep germs out of the home.
Usually, your home insurance won’t cover home repairs due to normal wear and tear. Yet, if the damage resulted from a peril covered by your insurance, you might get help with the repairs. For help knowing if your home insurance can assist you, call one of our agents today at (817) 563-5555.