How School Germs and Other Germs Make it into Your Home

Sometimes it feels like we need a hazmat suit whenever our kids come home from school. But minimizing the number of school germs making their way into your home and onto your countertops and door handles can be easy. Here are a few tips and simple routines to help your home: 

Germs and Contamination: 3 Things You Didn’t Know 

Thanks to research on how our hands spread germs, experts now know that: 

1. Germs can survive for hours (or more) on hands 

Some germs need a host to multiply and divide. But that doesn’t mean they need to find a host immediately. Germs can last for hours on our hands. Good hand hygiene is important to help ensure that school germs and other germs don’t follow us home. 

2. Damp Hands Spread More Germs than Dry Hands 

Bacteria especially love moisture. If you have kids, washing their hands is only half the battle. Make sure they take the time to dry them, too. Research shows damp hands spread roughly 1,000 times as many germs as dry hands. 

Routine to Help Fight Germs in Your Home

1. Take off your Shoes at the Door 

Shoes can track in more than just mud and dirt. USA Today explains that it’s not uncommon for the bottoms of our shoes to collect and track germs and bacteria. 

This is because when someone sneezes or coughs, some of those droplets stay in the air, but they also tend to settle over time and land on nearby objects, like the surrounding floor. 

As we make our way through the day, those germs can collect on the bottoms of our shoes, and the degree of contamination varies depending on how frequently floors are cleaned and other factors. 

This is critical if you have young kids crawling around.

2. Wash Hands or Use Sanitizer Immediately After Stepping Through the Door 

Making a B-line to your fridge or pantry the moment you step through the door is tempting, but you can contaminate what experts have already identified as one of the dirtiest—the kitchen! Start a habit of cleaning your hands when you step through the door to fight germs. 

With routines, experts agree it’s essential to start small and build up. Suppose washing your hands immediately is impractical for some reason, or you routinely forget. In that case, a more accessible starting point may be using hand sanitizer when getting into your car, getting off the bus, or immediately getting to your front door. 

Whether using soap and water is an impractical option, remember that hand sanitizer products like traditional dispensers or sanitizing wipes are a great backup option. Figure out the habits that work best for you, and you’ll be one step closer to fighting school germs and other germs that would otherwise make themselves at home in your house.