Manufactured Housing News

During the flu season, common measures like washing your hands frequently can help you reduce your risk of getting sick. Besides complying with strict personal hygiene measures, cleaning and disinfecting your manufactured home is another thing you can do to get rid of dangerous germs. But to get the most out of specific cleaning and disinfection products, it's important to use them correctly. To help, we've gathered the most important information you need to know in order to clean and disinfect your manufactured home properly.

Clean First, Then Disinfect All Hard Surfaces

According to specialists, if a surface isn't visibly dirty, it doesn't mean it's clean and sanitized. Additionally, it's important to know that disinfectants don't work on surfaces that are visibly dirty. A surefire way to remove germs from surfaces is to clean them first and then apply EPA-registered products that are effective against the type of bacteria, viruses, or fungi you want to get rid of.

After cleaning your entire manufactured home properly, use a disinfectant recommended to wipe down all high-touch surfaces, such as the floors, kitchen and bathroom counters, backsplashes, sinks, faucet knobs, doors, doorknobs, door, and window frames, handles, railings, and light switches. In addition to high-touch surfaces, you should also disinfect your appliances, including your washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, and laundry hamper. Although laundry and dishwasher detergents are designed for cleaning, they aren't intended to sterilize anything, so they cannot kill the germs inside your appliances.

The contact time is another important aspect of disinfection. Because disinfection isn't instantaneous, a quick wipe may not be enough to get rid of disease-causing germs. To disinfect surfaces properly, you need to let the product sit on the surface for the length of time specified on the label. Bleach solutions, for example, need to stay wet on surfaces for at least 10 minutes to kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Disinfect Soft Surfaces

Because soft surfaces are porous, they're more difficult to disinfect compared to hard surfaces. However, there are certain products that you can use to sanitize carpeted floors, rugs, drapes, and upholstery. The key to proper disinfection of different soft surfaces is to spray the entire surface with a disinfecting spray and let it dry completely before walking or sitting down.

Disinfect Electronic Items

In most cases, germs hang out where people do. This indirectly means that you should also disinfect the electronic items you have in your manufactured home. Phones, computer keyboards and mice, TV remote controls, and game controllers can be easily sanitized with disinfecting wipes. To disinfect these items effectively, use as many wipes as necessary in order to comply with the length of time required to kill the germs. To avoid damaging devices like phones and tablets, it's better to opt for covers that can be wiped clean.   

Wash Towels and Bed Linens Properly

Washing and disinfecting towels and bed linens is an important part of keeping your manufactured home sanitized. Besides changing your bed sheets and towels once a week, using the warmest appropriate water setting specified on the label is important in order to disinfect towels and bed linens. As well, certain disinfecting products, such as bleach, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen bleach, or borax, can help you sterilize your towels and bed linen properly. You could also use specific disinfectants in the final rinse.

Consider Safety Precautions

Before using disinfectants, it's important to pay attention to potential health hazards. Eye protection and chemical-resistant gloves are often required when cleaning surfaces with such products. If you have young children or pets, check the label to make sure the product you intend to purchase is safe to use around them.

As well, never attempt to mix disinfectants to make them more effective. Combining different disinfectants could lead to chemical reactions that may produce dangerous pollutants, including toxic gas. To prevent disinfection by-products from accumulating indoors, make sure that you properly ventilate your manufactured home after letting disinfectants sit on surfaces for the length of time recommended.

What if you intend to buy a manufactured home soon?

If the current manufactured homeowner, realtor, or dealer is hosting an open house, make sure that you follow some good personal hygiene practices, such as using hand sanitizer, wearing booties and keeping a safe distance from others. If you're also looking for manufactured home financing alternatives, feel free to get in touch with our specialists, as some of the financing solutions that we offer could fit your financial situation.