How to stop a virus from spreading in your home

The best source of information on how to avoid getting sick from someone in your house is the Centers for Disease Control. They’ve published helpful guidelines, and are updating their content as more information about Coronavirus is uncovered.

If you’ve been in close contact with someone who’s been diagnosed with COVID-19, or who is under investigation for the virus, it’s important that you monitor your health closely. If you start showing any Coronavirus symptoms, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, contact your doctor right away. Anyone who has been diagnosed or who may have been exposed to the virus should home quarantine to avoid spread of COVID-19.

If you’re assisting someone with COVID-19

The CDC recommends that anyone who is in close contact with someone who has the Coronavirus follow these guidelines for how to stop a virus from spreading:

• Household members should stay in another room or be separated from the patient as much as possible and use a separate bedroom and bathroom, if available.
• Do not allow visitors who do not have an essential need to be in the home.
• Household members should care for any pets in the home. Do not handle pets or other animals while sick.
• Make sure shared spaces in the home have good air flow, such as an air conditioner or an opened window, weather permitting.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains 60 to 95% alcohol, covering all surfaces of your hands and rubbing them together until they feel dry. If your hands are visibly dirty, use soap and water.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• The patient should wear a facemask when he or she is around other people. If the patient is not able to wear a facemask (for example, because it causes trouble breathing), any caregiver should wear a mask when in the same room as the patient.
• Wear a disposable facemask and gloves when you touch or have contact with the patient’s blood, stool, or body fluids, such as saliva, sputum, nasal mucus, vomit, urine.
  • Throw out disposable facemasks and gloves after using them. Do not reuse.
  • Remove gloves first and dispose of them. Then, immediately clean your hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Next, remove and dispose of facemask, and immediately clean your hands again with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid sharing household items with the patient. You should not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding, or other items. After the patient uses these items, you should wash them thoroughly using the guidelines below.
• Clean all “high-touch” surfaces, such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables, every day.
• Wash laundry thoroughly.
• Place all used disposable gloves, facemasks, and other contaminated items in a lined container before disposing of them with other household waste. Clean your hands (with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer) immediately after handling these items. Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty.

How to kill flu virus on surfaces

The brand Clorox has recommendations that correspond to the type of product you’re using:

Disinfecting wipes:

• Wipe surface to be disinfected.
• Keep surface wet for 4 minutes.
• Let surface dry.
• For highly soiled surfaces, clean excess dirt first.
• For items that come in contact with food or mouths (like baby bottles or toys), rinse with warm water and let air-dry.

Premixed cleaners containing bleach:

• Spray 6 to 8 inches from surface and allow product to penetrate tough stains and messes.
• Let stand 30 seconds.
• Wipe with a wet sponge or cloth and rinse with water, no scrubbing required.
• For heavily soiled surfaces, pre-clean surface before disinfecting.
• For items that come in contact with food or mouths (like baby bottles or toys), rinse with warm water and let air-dry.

Disinfecting bleach:

• Pre-wash surface.
• Mop or wipe with a solution of 1/2 cup of disinfecting bleach per gallon of water.
• Allow solution to contact the surface for 5 minutes.
• For items that come in contact with food or mouths (like baby bottles or toys), rinse with warm water and let air-dry.

Social distancing

In addition to following the guidelines above, health and government officials recommend avoiding large gatherings and maintaining a distance of 6 feet from other people (commonly called social distancing). This reduces the chance of contact with anyone knowingly or unknowingly carrying the infection.

How Meyer Ranch is responding to COVID-19

During this time of concern and caution, we are taking appropriate measures to help keep our guests and employees as safe and healthy as possible.

Our builders have increased their daily cleaning and disinfecting schedules focusing even more attention on frequently touched surfaces such as: doorknobs, counter-tops, cabinet pulls, bathroom surfaces, and more.  There is hand sanitizer available in each model home sales office.  We have also asked everyone to refrain from shaking hands or hugging.

We would also ask you, our beloved customer, to please stay home if you are feeling ill, have traveled to high-risk area, or have been in contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Communicate Virtually

We understand you may be on a timeline to find your next home. We strongly urge you to consider communicating with our builders via phone, email and website chats.

Schedule Your Appointments

When you schedule appointments with any one of our home builder’s sales associates, ask for a dedicated time slot so that you can be the only guest(s) during your visit. This will help ensure social distancing.

We’d love to help you find your new home at Meyer Ranch! Call us at 830-213-7397.