Environmental Biologist Offers Tips For Cleaning And Disinfecting Your Home During COVID-19 Crisis

CHICAGO (CBS) — By now, you might have become a hand-washing or hand-sanitizing fiend, but how about disinfecting your home? The Morning Insiders found several household cleaning products are not up to snuff.

CBS 2's Lauren Victory takes you inside her cabinets.

Doorknobs, light switches, your computer's keyboard; all are breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses, and possible resting places for COVID-19.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said the virus can live on a variety of surfaces for hours, or even longer.

Erica Hartmann, an environmental microbiologist at Northwestern University, said if you don't properly let products do their job and stay wet before wiping down surfaces at home, "the appropriate reaction won't take place."

"For some, it might only be a few seconds. For others it can be as much as 10 minutes, so it really depends on what you're cleaning with," she said.

Hartmann said your best line of defense against the virus is alcohol or bleach.

"These are the recommended disinfectants that are recommended by the CDC; specifically for SARS-CoV-2," she said.

But what if you don't have those products, and you don't want to go to a store? We dove into our treasure trove of cleaning supplies to see what else could be effective.

Hartmann is an environmental microbiologist who's normally in a lab, studying hospital-grade disinfectants.

Some of the ingredients in consumer cleaning products surprised her. She was stuck on Comet cleanser, because it didn't contain the normal bleach formula.

"This is a type of thing that you can use to chlorinate your pool," she said. "I could not tell you how effective that specific type of bleach is against viruses."

So how about the ever-popular, constantly sold-out Clorox wipes?

"Anything that contains quaternary ammonium compounds, our research has shown that that favors the survival of spore-forming organisms," Hartmann said.

That means your wipes might destroy COVID-19, while allowing bacteria to evolve and become resistant to being killed.

Bottom line – don't underclean, or overclean.

"If it's a spray, you assume that you just spray and just wipe it away," Hartmann said. "That's not actually the case."

And whatever you clean, make sure you read the instructions.

Always a good tip – make sure you wear gloves while cleaning, especially when handling bleach and alcohol. Also, don't mix any cleaning products; combining some chemicals could create toxic gases.

Hartman also offered a few additional tips:

RATIO OF BLEACH TO WATER? Unless the label says otherwise, the way to dilute bleach is 5 tablespoons (1/3rd cup) bleach per gallon of water, or 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water.

SURFACES NOT TO USE BLEACH ON? You should not use bleach on metal surfaces (including stainless steel) because it can cause corrosion. Obviously, you probably don't want to use it on textiles either, unless you want them to turn funny colors.

CAN YOU USE A SPRAY BOTTLE, OR DO YOU HAVE TO A USE RAG/BUCKET? It's fine to put diluted bleach in a spray bottle, but be careful how you spray it. You want to be avoid breathing in too much bleach or getting it in your eyes. You probably don't want it on your clothes either. Always make sure the area you're cleaning is well ventilated.

Environmental Biologist Offers Tips For Cleaning And Disinfecting Your Home During COVID-19 Crisis