After someone in your household recovers from COVID-19, a thorough cleaning and disinfecting of your home reduces the risk of lingering virus spreading to others. The good news: on soft, porous surfaces like fabric and paper, the virus typically becomes inactive within minutes to hours. On hard surfaces like plastic, stainless steel, and glass, it takes longer, but a 99% reduction in infectious virus occurs within about 72 hours under normal indoor conditions. That said, you don’t need to wait three days. A targeted cleaning session can handle everything in an afternoon.
Start With Ventilation
Before you start wiping surfaces, open windows and doors to get fresh air moving through the house, especially in rooms where the sick person spent the most time. Cross-ventilation, where air flows in one window and out another, is more effective than opening a single window. If you have a portable air purifier with a HEPA filter, place it in the room where the person was isolating. Choose a unit sized for that room’s square footage and look for one rated for smoke-sized particles, which captures the tiny airborne particles (0.1 to 1 micrometer) that carry the virus.
If you don’t have a standalone air purifier, you can upgrade your HVAC filter to MERV 13 or higher. Even a box fan with a high-efficiency furnace filter taped to the back (a DIY air cleaner) helps. Run ventilation for several hours during and after cleaning. Point airflow toward open windows rather than directing it from room to room.
What to Wear While Cleaning
Wear disposable gloves throughout the entire process. If you’re cleaning within 24 hours of the sick person being in a room, wear a mask as well. Goggles or safety glasses are a good idea if you’re using bleach or spray disinfectants, since splashback can irritate your eyes. When you’re finished, remove gloves carefully, throw them away, and wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Clean First, Then Disinfect
Cleaning and disinfecting are two separate steps, and the order matters. Cleaning means scrubbing a surface with soap and water to physically remove dirt, grime, and most germs. Disinfecting means applying a chemical that kills whatever germs remain. If you skip cleaning and go straight to disinfecting, dirt and residue on the surface can prevent the disinfectant from doing its job.
For the disinfecting step, use a product registered on the EPA’s “List N,” which includes disinfectants confirmed to kill SARS-CoV-2. You can check whether your product qualifies by finding the EPA registration number on its label and searching it on the EPA website. Alternatively, a bleach solution works. The critical detail most people miss: the surface needs to stay visibly wet for the full contact time listed on the product label. This is often 1 to 10 minutes depending on the product. If it dries before time is up, the disinfectant hasn’t finished working and you need to reapply.
Never mix disinfecting products with each other. Bleach and ammonia, for instance, create toxic fumes. Stick with one product at a time and keep the area well ventilated.
Prioritize High-Touch Surfaces
Focus your energy on the surfaces people touch most frequently. These include:
- Doorknobs and handles throughout the house, including cabinet pulls
- Light switches and outlet covers
- Faucet handles in the kitchen and bathroom
- Toilet flush handles, seats, and surrounding areas
- Countertops and tables
- Refrigerator and microwave handles
- Stair railings
- Remote controls and game controllers
Wipe each surface with soap and water first, then apply your disinfectant and let it sit for the required contact time. For surfaces that contact food, like kitchen counters, rinse with plain water after the disinfectant has done its job.
How to Handle Laundry and Bedding
Sheets, towels, pillowcases, and clothing used by the sick person should be washed promptly. Wear gloves and a mask when gathering dirty laundry, and avoid shaking items, which can release viral particles into the air. Toss everything directly into the washing machine.
Hot water at 160°F (71°C) for at least 25 minutes is the standard for killing pathogens in laundry. If your machine doesn’t reach that temperature, you can still get effective results at lower temperatures by adding bleach or an oxygen-based laundry sanitizer. These activated-oxygen products are gentler on colors than chlorine bleach while still reducing microbial contamination. Use the warmest water setting your fabrics can tolerate, and dry everything completely on the highest appropriate heat setting. Wash your hands immediately after loading the machine, even if you wore gloves.
Cleaning Electronics Safely
Phones, tablets, keyboards, and remote controls are some of the most frequently touched objects in a home, and they need special care because you can’t soak them. Turn off the device and unplug it before cleaning. Remove batteries from wireless keyboards or remotes if possible.
Dampen a microfiber cloth (not paper towel, which can scratch screens) with a mixture of 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water. The cloth should be damp, not dripping. Wipe the device down, cleaning screens from top to bottom in one direction. Never spray liquid directly onto any electronic device, and don’t let moisture seep into ports, keyboards, or speaker grilles. Let everything air-dry completely before powering back on. Higher concentrations of alcohol can cause discoloration or surface damage, so stick with 70%.
Dishes, Cups, and Utensils
Any dishes, glasses, or silverware used by the sick person should be washed with gloves using hot water and dish soap, or run through a dishwasher on a normal cycle. The combination of hot water, detergent, and the mechanical action of washing is sufficient to eliminate the virus. There’s no need to throw away plates or cups. Just make sure you wash your hands after removing your gloves.
Bathroom Deep Clean
The bathroom the sick person used deserves extra attention. Clean and disinfect the toilet (inside and out), sink, faucet handles, countertops, shower handles, and the floor around the toilet. If you share a bathroom, disinfect these surfaces at least daily while someone is actively sick, and do a final thorough cleaning after they recover. Replace or wash the bath mat, hand towels, and shower curtain liner. Toothbrush holders and soap dispensers are easy to overlook but should be wiped down as well.
Soft Surfaces and Upholstery
Fabric surfaces like couches, carpet, and curtains present less risk than hard surfaces because the virus loses viability on porous materials much faster, often within minutes to hours. The fibers pull moisture away from the virus through capillary action, which deactivates it. Still, if the sick person spent a lot of time on a particular couch or chair, vacuum it thoroughly with a HEPA-filter vacuum if you have one, and launder any removable covers. For items you can’t machine wash, a fabric-safe disinfectant spray labeled for soft surfaces works. Steam cleaning is another effective option.
After You Finish
Once you’ve cleaned and disinfected surfaces, laundered bedding and towels, and wiped down electronics, keep windows open or the air purifier running for a few more hours. Throw away any used gloves, disposable cloths, or masks in a lined trash can, tie the bag closed, and wash your hands. Replace HVAC filters if they haven’t been changed recently, especially if you’ve been running the system continuously during the illness.
If the person who was sick used a humidifier, clean and disinfect it according to the manufacturer’s instructions before using it again. Empty and disinfect any trash cans that were in the sick person’s room. Small details like these are easy to forget but close the loop on a thorough post-COVID clean.