Hosts may want to read this when considering how to clean

[#1]

I just read this article which makes it clear how quickly so many surfaces can be contaminated by those who are infected with no symptoms.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/presymptomatic-virus-patients-can-contaminate-environments-study/

[Sarah977]

@Mark116  Well, everything I've read to date is consistent in saying that the virus is short-lived on porous surfaces like cloth-no more than 24 hours. So if a day is left between bookings, that should take care of concern about things like drapery, rugs and upholstered furniture. I've always thought upholstered furniture should have removeable, washable covers in a rental, regardless.

Yes, that would be a lot of plastic bags adding to the landfill, but there's no reason those bags can't be set aside after use and left for  week where no one would come in contact with them, and reused on a rotating basis.

[Mark116]

@Sarah977  I can't agree on using plastic bags, why not a regular cloth laundry bag that gets thrown in the wash along with the bedding?  It can be used again and again and there is no issues of it sitting around for 1-3-7 days while still holding active virus....which goes to show how little thought has been put into some of these guidelines and rules, as  my guess is you got the plastic bag idea from the large hotel chains which  have started doing this...because they don't give two f.. about waste or the environment.

[Debra300]

@Mark116,

You make some very valid points.  It will be near impossible to disinfect every surface where the virus can be present. 

I have Febreze Professional Sanitizing Fabric Refresher to spray on upholstery and fabric furnishings.  I also have been researching ways to disinfect the fabric items more naturally, and found a couple of things that I will try:

1. Spray a solution of white vinegar and water: Refresh and disinfect the fibers of your carpet without renting a steam cleaner with the help of a simple homemade solution and a scrub brush. In a bowl or small bucket, mix one part white vinegar with three parts water. Dip the bristles of the scrub brush into the solution and rub them into the carpet.  (I have too many rugs to clean, and will use an outdoor broom to brush in the solution).
2. Homemade carpet powder: To clean and disinfect your carpet, try blending 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup borax, and 1 cup cornmeal. Sprinkle mixture over rug and rub with a cloth. Be sure to sprinkle, rather than dump, the mixture on your carpet. Large clumps of cornmeal could clog your vacuum. Let rest for several hours or overnight, then vacuum. 

[Sarah977]

@Mark116  Totally agree- I'd use reusable cloth bags myself, I guess I said plastic bags because I think that's what the majority of people would be inclined to use, but it would be great if they didn't- I also hate plastic waste. I actually never bought garbage bags in my life. My upholstery stuffing I use in my work comes in big plastic bags, and I reuse them for other things and garbage so they do double or triple duty. I use the empty big dog food bags I end up with for garbage as well. 

I have almost no real garbage anyway. I can recycle glass, cardboard, metal and most plastic where I live, and have a big compost bin for kitchen scraps and any other organic material. I even empty the dustpan in the compost box- all it is is dust and dirt and dog hair. So a regular size garbage bag or big dog food bag is kept in the shed and added to little by little until full- which takes about 3 weeks. When I lived in Canada, it was much the same. I could never figure out how my neighbors managed to come up with 2 or 3 large garbage bags each week on garbage collection day- some were households with only one or two people.

What I've always really hated is when people rake up leaves in the fall and put them in plastic bags with the garbage- if you've got a yard big enough to rake up bags full of leaves, one would think a person could dedicate a back corner of the yard to piling up the organic material- it breaks down in time and turns into humousy soil and dry leaves make good mulch around garden plantings to keep down the weeds and conserve moisture.

[Ria16]

@Sarah977 Such a good thought about the covers ,  I can see I would definitely need a whole three days between each guest to feel I have done a good job. Our hospitals used dissolvable bag inserts on the wards for soiled linens to minimise contact for staff . The whole thing gets thrown in the boilers. 

I’m not sure if they can be bought by consumers though. Will have a look online. 

[Denice0]

@Sarah977 , good information, as the article states the laundry will need special handling:

"They noted that a higher viral load was detected after prolonged contact with sheets and pillow covers."

“The detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the surface samples of the sheet, duvet cover, and pillow cover highlights the importance of proper handling procedures when changing or laundering used linens of SARS-CoV-2 patients,” they said.

If I have any guests this summer,  I'm now thinking house rules / C-19 Guest instructions:

 -  guests strip the bed and place linens in a laundry basket with their towels. 

 - guests at check-out leave windows open to air the room out. 

Cleaners enter the unit 24 hours after check-out and I'm scheduling 4 day gaps between all reservations.  I'm not planning on a busy year!

[Melodie-And-John0]

Just released

"The  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to learn more about COVID-19, it is believed to spread mainly from person to person and not through other ways, like touching surfaces.  The virus can be spread in other ways, but not as easily. That includes touching surfaces or objects, or from animals to people and vice versa".

Thats more good news, unmasking this disease one layer at a time will empower us to rip its theath out and make it history.  

[Helen350]

Yes @Melodie-And-John0! - That's why I'm still up for home sharing - in a socially distanced fashion! If I hear someone exit my bathroom, above my 'lair', as lodger has been known to call, I'll give it an hour before I go in! And wipe my disinfectant soaked sponge over the taps before & after.

I've just had a hospital worker say she wants half my currently empty,(not Airbnb) cottage this Saturday for 2 weeks. And 2 social workers are due in 48 -60 hrs after she leaves, for 1 month or several depending on how their contracts pan out.... All very Manna from heaven, just as my income was about to drop below my essential outgoings.... Hoping they all come as planned! - Light on the horizon!

[Melodie-And-John0]

Absolutely @Helen350,  pennies from heaven  for sure and just in time for our summer heat which should help wipe those little Viral Ba5!&drs out for a little while so we can gather nuts for next winter!       

[Sarah977]

@Melodie-And-John0  It's quite hot here in Mexico now and the virus is still on an upward curve. There haven't been any scientific reports that support the notion that as soon as the weather gets warm the virus will disappear. It's all been speculation at this point.

[Helen350]

@Sarah977 It was on the UK tv news that doctors & nurses in Mexico are being beaten up, by people accusing them of spreading the virus. Crazy... ('Scuse the off topic.)

[Sarah977]

@Helen350  Yes, it's disgusting. A lot of ignorance happening. But it's happening other places, too. Violence towards Asians who live in Canada and the US, many of them native-born Canadians or Americans. Perhaps this is happening in the UK, too. And of course the people who perpetrate this sort of behavior didn't even make a distinction between Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Thais, etc even before coronavirus, because they're so ignorant they just see other races lumped together.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Sarah977 @Helen350  @Melodie-And-John0 

Earlier in Jan~March when the # of confirmed cases were skyrocketing in China & Korea before the U.S. began to see a spike, my parents were really really worried about my sisters (one of hasn't even been to Korea in the past 6 yrs) when we started to hear about racial hate crimes against Asians.

My experience......... hate, violence and discrimination usually comes from ignorance and misguided anger. 

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/We-are-not-COVID-19-Asian-Americans-speak-out-on-racis...

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/10/opinions/how-to-fight-bias-against-asian-americans-covid-19-liu/i...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/02/targeting-asians-asian-americans-will-make-it-har...

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Sarah977 @Helen350  @Melodie-And-John0  ,  Its awful that in the 21st century we still have folks that think more with their eyes than their brains combined with all of their other senses.  The eyes may be the windows to ones heart but they are fatally flawed when used as the only judgement of character and intent especially when the basis for shortsighted  reactions are 'isms" based on untruths likely passed down over generations like folk lore!

The good news is that over my short half a century + time as a cognoscente human on this planet, we've moved from most people only finding out things about others across the pond from out of date encyclopedias and when we engage them in combat to an Airbnb world where folks in a very rural white-bread community are hosting guests from Chongqing that now are like a sister to us.  That doesnt fix the bad in the world for those confronted with it today but time has a way of erasing it.  Keep the faith, things will get better every day cause we will make them better together!  Stay well, JR

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Sarah977  I hope your curve goes the other way soon!  Some of that may have been wishful thinking on my part but it is a fact, UV exposure to Virus's and bacteria don't get along well so that should translate into less transmission than like the last 6 months hanging out in places that get very little ultra violet radiation indoors all winter.  I got my share of Vitamin D today mowing about 9 acres and didnt see a single human other than my wife, thats pretty safe....