09/21/2020
Cleaning and disinfecting
Cleaning your home with household cleaning and disinfectant products can help prevent the spread of illness including COVID-19.
In your home
Regular cleaning and disinfecting can help prevent the spread of illness including COVID-19. Frequently touched surfaces such as toilets, sink tap handles, doorknobs, light switches, and tables should be cleaned at least daily. Other less frequently touched surfaces should be cleaned regularly when visibly dirty. Make sure to clean surfaces with soap or detergent before disinfecting. The virus that causes COVID-19 can be broken down by soaps and detergents as well as appropriate disinfectants. Cleaning and disinfecting is a simple, effective, two-step process that is described below.
Step 1: Clean away dirt, crumbs etc.
Use soapy water to wipe away dirt, soils and other debris. Plain dish soap or any kind of household cleaning product will remove dirt, oils and other debris from surfaces.
Step 2: Disinfect
If possible, use store-bought disinfectants. Familiar brands such as Clorox, Lysol, Fantastik, Microban and Zep have specific products that will work against the COVID-19 virus. Please check the Health Canada’s list of approved products. If your product is not on the list, it has not been approved for this use.
If store-bought disinfectants are not available, you can mix household bleach with room temperature water (do not use hot water) in specific ratios to disinfect areas in your home. Household bleach should be diluted. It comes in different concentrations so check your label first before you mix (see information in table below).
Rinsing and drying recommendations are important parts of the disinfection process. For high-touch or heavily soiled areas such as toilets and sinks, leave 1000 ppm bleach solutions wet for one minute before wiping down the surface with a cloth soaked in clean water. Other bleach solutions of 500 ppm should be left wet for five minutes then air drying is fine. The table below provides more details.
Diluting bleach
The directions below use bleach that is 5.25%. For other concentrations please use the Foodsafe bleach calculator.
Bleach solutions may be used in spray bottles or wiped onto surfaces and other items. Bleach and water mixtures are effective for 24 hours so only make as much as you need.
Cleaning your home with household cleaning and disinfectant products can help prevent the spread of illness including COVID-19.