Help any insights on when or how to clean my place so I can be safe after a guest that may had the corona virus!
I assume everyone may have it, start cleaning 2-3 days after guests leave. Wear gloves, do not touch your face. consider not hosting.
Stay safe
RR
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I wonder if some time in the future we’ll require future guests to show proof they are not positive? (Presumes tests are available)
I can only imagine the fakes that would be generated — kinda like certificates for service animals. (Dang, did I bring that up again)?
Wear high quality nitrile gloves and a face shield, mask goggles, what ever you have to keep you from touching your face. When done cleaning I use bleach solution on the gloves then use my hands to take my other clothes and the face shield off. Throw the gloves away and then wash my hands and then take a shower. Imagine you are a nurse or surgeon.
As for the room I’m using bleach solution on all the things a guest may have touched. This must be very mindfully done as there are so many things we may not normally think of. the cord to the drapes, the edge of the wall mounted magnifying mirror, all knobs, handles and switches.
I’ve taken all extras and textiles except on the bed out of the room. No candy box, no rugs or decorative pillows. I have no carpet, no curtains only shutters and a blind in the bathroom. Anything extra I can remove that a guest might touch like all the books in the bookcase.
I did leave pictures on the wall and some magazines I can toss.
If I can think of more I’ll add them. As RR said, if you can just wait several days that helps.
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The HIPPA law would have to be changed. We have no right to ask guests about their personal health info. And god help us if we start putting the 21st C equivalent of yellow stars on people. I’ll be arrested and in a camp if that happens.
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Interesting you see it that way. I liken it more to any hysteria around AIDS a long time ago, concern about someone giving you a fatal illness, not a racial issue. As this is not really understood yet, those who are concerned COVID could kill them should probably just stop hosting altogether.
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I don’t see it as a racial issue. I see it as a labeling issue. AIDS patients and or gay men never had to carry around certificates of health or non health. People judged them based on sexual orientation and looks and appearance of health for sure but they weren’t branded with a “scarlet letter.”
I also see it as a potential government abuse of power issue. I’m already on high alert for how powers are going to be misused.
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Yeah, cord to the drapes! Good one I hadn’t thought of. We have carpeted floors and I just don’t know if we can/should do any hosting.
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I have a power steamer made for floors. I would wait several days and then go in and steam and then let it dry between guests. This is the machine I have. It can be used on a lot of things obviously, it has multiple attachments.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C44DM6D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Note: I paid $149 a year ago so ignore the effort to make it look like it’s on a fantastic sale.
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Don’t forget the floors. I’m wearing some rubber slides or flip flops or clogs and then dipping them in the bleach water and putting them in the sun to dry. Just be aware of walking into the Airbnb space and then tracking back into your own space with fresh virus on your shoes if you have that kind of set up, like a suite attached to your house. If it’s a separate property I’d dress for cleaning there and leave the stuff there and change back to home clothes.
I mop with bleach when I go in to get the bed linens to wash and again last thing as I go out when I’m done.
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This article covers several situations. Scroll through it to find one to fit your home or rental.
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That’s much better than my post. 11 Feb people! 11 Feb. Sigh.
Or you just wait for 4 days and clean the room as usual.
Under ideal conditions the virus can survive 72 without a host, ideal conditions are in a lab.
So you can say that after 4 days you are safe.
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Even if someone had a negative COVID-19 test yesterday, that’s no guarantee that they haven’t been infected since then.
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@myrkats You have to clean like that between every guest, not just someone who is visibly sick. Anyone can be carrying the virus and show no symptoms. It has a 14 day incubation period. If you don’t clean responsibly between every guest, you shouldn’t be hosting as long as this pandemic is active.
If you are able to, the best course is to leave the unit empty for 3 or 4 days. We’ve asked our guests to take out their trash when they leave (which we don’t usually ask) and are just letting it sit for a few days. And then you can clean as you normally would (which should include sanitizing switches, knobs, pulleys, remotes, etc anyway). Bleach is quite harsh and can also ruin somethings (and also, in case you are running low on supplies of it) so you can also consider using rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide for these little things .
We are also asking the guests to leave the heater on (we usually ask that they turn it off). Although, the summer/warmer temperatures will not end the covid spread, there is enough evidence that suspects that virus does not survive as long in a warmer room - and other coronaviurses do not survive as long on surfaces in warmer temperatures, that I, personally, think it’s an extra step that may help. I feel safe going into a room that’s been heated for 3 or 4 days that the bulk of the virus has not survived. Also, if you have forced air heating, the air movement will get the droplets to land sooner. The highest risk is with the virus that is in the air, not what is on surfaces.
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I stuff I use for santizing dog areas called 246 disinfectant (in addition to lots of bleach, some alcohol and peroxide). Active ingredients: Didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride n-Alkyl (C1450%, C1240%, C1610%)10.14% , dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 6.76%. Inert ingredients: 83.10%.
It is known to kill parvovirus and canine coronavirus. There are all kinds of warnings on the bottle about using protective clothing, eye protection etc but I can’t see any reason why it couldn’t be used in the Airbnb room and then rinsed just like bleach except it doesn’t bleach out stuff, like overspray on my clothing. I was going to ask my chemist friend but do you have thoughts?
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Honestly, I am not sure. It’s a great idea to ask your chemist friend! It seems fairly dilute but my feeling is that it may be overkill. Dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride is known to be corrosive to mucous membranes and a respiratory irritant. Personally, I’d avoid anything that gave your respiratory system any extra trouble right now. If you are exposed to Covid, you want it to be nice and healthy so that it can fight a good fight.
Bleach is really very safe as long as you don’t let it irritate your nasal passages and eyes. Are you short on supply?
The best way to avoid covid is to not be exposed. Consider leaving at least 3 or 4 days in between guests. That’s the number one thing you can do as a host right now. If you are doing back to back bookings, you are walking into a room that may still have it in the air. It is an unnecessary risk. I know you are healthy and strong and full of piss and vinegar ( 
) but you are still at risk.
You said you have PPE (personal protective equipment) but a lot of that is not effective if you are reusing it. For most people, the masks are a false security, they aren’t wearing them/taking them off/putting them on correctly and they are being used over and over. Not very effective. Also, even healthcare workers seem to be getting exposed when taking the masks off and on - and they are trained in PPE and have better ones. If you don’t have a whole case of masks and use a new one every time, I wouldn’t count on it preventing exposure. And, if you do happen to have a whole case of masks, consider dropping it off at the hospital, because they need them more ,)
This is inaccurate. We have no idea how long Covid-19 lasts, but scientists recently compiled 22 different scientific studies of coronaviruses and found the human coronaviruses lasted up to 9 days and veterinary ones lasted much longer, up to 28 days on inanimate objects.
Given that this is believed to have originated in bats, and I just read that a 2nd dog has tested positive, I am assuming this is a veterinary virus.
So you know better than your own scientists?
There is already enough fake news around, creating unnecessary panic. Do not spread more.