How to Prepare Yourself and Your Home for Cold and Flu Season
There’s no way to totally eliminate your chances of catching a cold or flu. But that’s not an excuse to do nothing. There are a bunch of things you can do around the house to slow down the spread of germs and boost your immune system. By following these simple steps, you’ll ensure that you and your home are ready to take on cold and flu season.
Only Keep Clean Clothes in the House
You can’t put a pause on your routine during cold and flu season. You still might have to ride the bus to the grocery store or pick up your kid from school. Even the simplest errands present opportunities to come into contact with germs and bacteria: from the seat on the bus, giving a hug to another mom at the school, handling groceries and waiting in the checkout line.
This is why you wash your hands or use hand sanitizer when you’re done with the errand. Germs and bacteria, however, aren’t exclusively drawn to your hands—they also cling to your clothes. That’s why it’s important to leave your shoes outside and change into a clean outfit when you get back inside the house.By tossing the outside clothes into the laundry, and washing them with OxiClean™ Laundry & Home Sanitizer as directed on the label, you’ll help to kill germs and bacteria before they have a chance to spread.
Cook Extra Nutritious Meals
Even if you’re really diligent about washing your hands and cleaning your clothes, you’re still going to interact with some germs. That’s why it’s important to make sure your immune system is functioning at its best during cold and flu season. A few changes in the kitchen can help you fight off the germs and viruses that might encounter.
When preparing meals and snacks, make sure you’re getting plenty of fruits, vegetables and lean protein. These foods provide your body with the nutrients it needs. Another important factor is staying as hydrated as possible. You can go with the rule of 8 eight-ounce glasses of water per day, but you’ll probably be good as long as you drink water whenever you’re thirsty. After all, your body needs more than hot cocoa during this time of year.
Focus on High Traffic Surfaces
You don’t need to worry about cleaning the entire house every day during cold and flu season. A smarter approach is identifying the places where germs are most likely to accumulate, and then using OxiClean™ Laundry & Home Sanitizer as directed to remove them. Think of the things you touch most often during the day: the bathroom faucet, door knobs throughout your home, the handles to kitchen cabinets.
Washing those surfaces is important, but so is going the extra mile by cleaning the floors and objects in rooms used by everyone in the household, particularly the bathroom. You can take on that job with the versatile and effective OxiClean™ Laundry & Home Sanitizer. It can be used on hard, non-porous surfaces like tile and can also clean hand towels in the wash.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Okay, this might seem like an easy one, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Sleep allows your body to maintain healthy homeostasis, and when that’s interrupted it can interfere with healthy hormone balance and compromise your immune system. If you’re someone that can have a hard time getting a full night’s sleep, you can try to exercise more often during the day. Not only does it have the chance to improve your quality of sleep, but it can also help bolster your immune system.
Don’t Go Soft on Soft Surfaces
Just because bathrooms, faucets and doorknobs get many germs doesn’t mean you should ignore the rest of your home. You don’t need to be quite as disciplined about cleaning the living room, for instance, but you should probably clean your couches and rugs more often than you would during summer.
If you forget to wash the jeans you wore on the subway before sitting down and watching tv, you should probably take a moment to sanitize the couch. The good news is that you can use the same package of OxiClean™ Laundry & Home Sanitizer. When used as directed, it’s safe to use on fabric couches, rugs and upholstery, which combined with its ability to work on hard surfaces and laundry, doesn’t leave much room for germs to hide. It’s one of the most handy tools you can have during cold and flu season.