Cleaning

Thanks Purplepoppies I don't plan to travel by public transport at the moment but feel sorry for people who have to. Same for people shopping in supermarkets, the mask is such a simple step. In Italy where I have fb friends, they were even wearing them outdoors!

I washed my shopping once having read on GN that everyone seemed to be doing it. I felt daft and OTT, so never again.

Masks and gloves when we shop and wash hands frequently. That’s it!

I'm with CalendarGirl. I have taken no extra precautions and have always washed my hands when I get home. I made face masks for DH and me because he had a hospital appointment but that's the only time we've worn them although I carry mine around with me in case I need it. The city centre is within reasonable walking distance (just over a mile) so with a rucksack to carry any shopping I don't need to use public transport.

Wipe all non washable shopping with 'plain' dettol wipes not the lemon ones it makes things smell/ taste of lemon. Washables can be washed over in sink & rinsed under tap.i.e.cans, bottles, anything plastic, (not anything with air holes in though) or wiped over with wipes or a spray or 2 of dettol antibac spray. The freezer stuff i wipe with the wipes then pop in freezer. Freezing can freeze the virus for up to 2years, it doesnt kill it. I wash fruit& veg under a hot tap& pop in a container then fridge.The dettol stuff are good as they kill 'coronaviruses' it says on label.( i presume that was the sars/mers one?) but if its good for that its ok for this i guess!

Can we actually catch the virus from food? Really?

Rosalyn I think like at the time of the plague anything and anybody comes under suspicion! We really don't know much about this virus yet so people feel safer performing rituals. If it helps you do it.

The other day I had to throw away a whole 1 kg bag of rice. Dh had been zealously bathing or washing in Milton every item of shopping that appeared to be watertight.

The rice bag evidently wasn’t! Rice at the top of the bag seemed to be rather sticking together, but it wasn’t until I poured the rest into my rice canister that I saw that it was all mouldy at the bottom.
Just as well I had another packet in the cupboard for curry night.

I am with Bluebelle and others on here who am trying to lead as normal as life as possible. I do my own supermarket weekly shop, come home, wash my hands, unpack and put shopping away (no washing of packages, food etc.), Then I wash my hands again.

Post and delivery parcels are opened, packing disposed off in rubbish, wash my hands and that is it.

Wear a mask in supermarket - but would NOT wear gloves there, (think they are more dangerous in holding and spreading any germs and infection than skin).

Wash my hands (as have always), before preparing or eating food. Rinse fruit / salad in cold water.

Cannot understand people who change clothes, etc. when just returning from shopping - unfortunately, this virus is definitely increasing OCD type behavior.

I think it has already been asked on here, do people follow these strange procedures during serious winter flu outbreaks most years? And, do people understand the difference between bacteria and virus?

Just normal cleaning for me. I wash my hands and always use the hand gel when i am out. Ive been using the hand gel for 5 years anyway, after a bout of flu which nearly killed me its become a regular routine. I must say ive had very few colds etc since adopting this habit.

How long do people intend to sanitise shopping, quarantine post and newspapers, bleach food etc?

If it’s until there’s an effective vaccine, for a long time I think.

I m really uplifted to see so many on here agreeing that these OTT rituals are really damaging to our mental health and is really just playing into panic .... just act sensibly and stop being so frightened of it all get used to it it’s not going away and you can’t keep up these extensive routines for ever half off them are not needed
What is far more important is to take a Vit D supplement it has been proved long before the government jumped on the bandwagon that our Vit D levels are the most important part of living and dying with this flu virus

Do you all take Vit D ? Especially those shielding and not going out Into the air The reason Asians are lower in Vit D than black skin is because so many are covered up the women especially from head to toe, no sunshine getting in there

Again thank you Bluebelle we need that kind of advice if we are not to remain recluse for the rest of our lives! No I'm not on Vit D but will be looking into it, what is the recommended dosage? is it ever harmful?

BlueBell, the vitamin D part in all this covid 19 seems to me to be hushed up.

But all must not forget that vitamin D is VERY TOXIC when taken in large doses. Also it takes a minimum of 6 weeks to even measure in the blood stream and up to a year to benefit all those parts of the body it should be benefiting.

In short? bit late now.

Vitamin D. I bite into a cod liver oil capsule as it is too big for me to swallow whole. That is unless I have just eaten oily fish. What I I don't know and would like to know is: is some of the vitamin in the CLO in the plasticky capsule itself which I discard?

I think the capsule is made of gelatine, Alexa.
For some reason, I tolerated cod liver oil liquid better, rather than the capsules. The cod liver oil with orange juice is quite nice.

I have vit D tablets but wouldn't take one every day, only if I can't get out in the sun for 15 minutes or so.

Tesco has discontinued bottled CLO which I prefer to capsules. I will ring the chemist and see if they can send me a bottle of CLO with my next meds delivery.

I think it's all about balance and "you can only do what you can do" - which will be very different for all of us.

I live alone, disabled, shielding and am just not able to keep on top of cleaning - even the washing up is a bit hit and miss, anything else just isn't happening!

I can't physically manage to clean everything that comes in - it's all I can do to put it away - so my strategy is -

post gets picked up, put on the side and left for 3ish days (except today - it's my birthday so when the post comes I will be collecting it, opening it and then washing hands well!)
any ambient shopping just gets brought in and left for as long as possible, at least 3 days.
anything for the fridge or freezer I just put away and hope!

I always wash my hands after I've put the shopping away, and before I prepare food - but I confess the thought is there at the back of my mind about the plastic packaging, especially bags of salad - the virus is very susceptible to heat so I'm less concerned if it's something I'm going to cook.

As I say - we can only do what we can do, and what feels right for us.

Heavens I would be a nervous wreck if I went to the lengths described by the OP !

I know we all vary in our attitude to the virus , and of course it can be a nasty illness for a tiny minority but I am astonished at the lengths some folk are prepared to go.

A few weeks ago I read that after a supermarket shop, some people were in the habit of stripping off once indoors, putting all the clothes (including their coat!) straight into the washing machine, then jumping into the shower!

silversand12, it's slightly reassuring the amount of exposure to vou describe is very limited.
Best wishes to you.

I didn’t know Tesco had discontinued bottled CLO Alexa. I bought some quite recently. It was their own brand, 3 for the price of 2. I take it mixed with a small amount of orange juice, and quite like it. DH takes it neat!!!

I just put shopping away and then wash my hands. I wash fruit and veg when I am going to use/ eat them.
Plenty of hand sanitizer while I’m out and about, and I wear a mask in the supermarket.
So far, so good!

You are doing just fine

I bought bottled CLO in my local Tesco yesterday Alexa.

Argh! CLO and Orange juice, about a bucket of each when I was 2 weeks overdue with 1st DD, kept having to mix it as the OJ floated on the top, with small pieces of bread to eat between sips, basically to keep it down.
And , no , it didn’t work.
And you all buy it to drink of your own free will? Crikey ?

Anyway, back to the OP.
Shopping is rebagged upon arrival indoors and left on the floor for a couple of days, fridge stuff is rebagged and fridged until the next day.
Why would I assume that the people who have packed and delivered the shopping don’t have germs or the virus on their hands?
How often do supermarket packers wash their hands ? Blow their noses, wipe their mouths?
Answer is, I don’t know, so I bag it and leave it for a bit, it’s no hassle to do it.
Did I do it before?
No, but maybe if I had I wouldn’t have gone down with colds every Winter, it’s a new way of living, not necessarily a bad way just different.
I have to say though that I do have’ underlying conditions ‘ and so does DH, So we have been very careful.