2019 has become the year of the lurgy – yep it is only the February but we have just had our first ever bout of Norovirus and it wasn’t pretty. In fact, the only saving grace is that Noro is short and sweet if you do get it, other than that it is brutal. So it is essential to do anything to prevent the spread of Norovirus.
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I am not sure that there is actually any foolproof way to stop the spread especially as it is also airborne, but doing these things has meant that only 75% of the household got it and also it made me feel as though I was doing something to help.
How to stop the spread of Norovirus
Hand Washing – this is the number one tip. make sure everyone washes their hands, especially before eating and before bed. I ensured that the boys sang happy birthday while washing them to make sure that they were clean.
Laundry – I normally wash at 30 or 40 degrees but I upped it to 60 degrees and made sure that I washed the laundry
Wear gloves – I am not a fab of rubber gloves as they make my hands sore, but I got a pack of disposable ones and used them before I cleaned everywhere and when I was dealing with the poorly person!
Start in the bathroom and make sure you use a different cloth for each room and then wash them on a hot wash. Use a mixture of bleach and hot water or a disinfectant spray (this is the one we used). Make sure you clean everywhere including the taps, flush, light switch, shampoo bottles and shower controls.
Apparently, it only takes a few tiny particles to make you sick so it is important not to cook food for 48 hours if you are the one who has been suffering.
When it comes to cleaning the kitchen make sure you clean any where you touch including the kettle, door handles, fridge door, taps, light switches, cooker switches and microwave button. Our dishwasher has a disinect setting so I used that for the time we had the bug to clean our pots.
Change the pillow cases every day but leave the rest of the linen for 48 hours after you feel better unless soiled.
Clean all hard surfaces with either a mix of bleach and hot water or hard surface disinfectant. Don’t forget sneaky hot spots like remote controls, phones, computer keypads, doorknobs, light switches — even your car keys. For sensitive electronics, spray a fine mist of disinfectant on a cloth first, then wipe gently.
Toothbrushes – If you can change all toothbrushes. We had just all had new ones so I used Milton to setilise them and it worked really well. The same goes for things people put in their mouth
How to clean up after Norovirus
- When you have children then you may have to clean up body fluid and there is no nice way to do it, but you do need to clean it up as fast as possible and a cleanly as possible to stop the spread. I hate the smell and end up having to put
vicks under my nose to stop me retching. - Rubber gloves are key as is getting as much of it up as possible. We use a paper plate to scoop it onto and then put it straight into a plastic bag.
- We also always have a roll of string paper towels in for times like this as we use them to soak up the strain before cleaning and then disinfecting. We are lucky to have hard floors and this makes it much easier.
- If you have carpets then scoop and wipe off as much as possible before covering with bicarb of soda and laying paper towels over to that the liquid is absorbed before vacuuming and then cleaning. We put all soiled tissue in a bin back and seal and throw away.
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