As everybody is hunkering down and sheltering in place as the Coronavirus goes through the world’s population, there are some specific areas in the country that are more susceptible than others. Those being buildings and areas where there is a lot of human traffic, and more chances for the virus to spread.
New York City has already put out a warning on apartment complexes in the cities being a potential hotbed for the coronavirus.
This has led to some questions sent into Apartment School about what responsibilities apartment complexes have regarding the coronavirus, what some complex are doing, and what YOU can do to protect yourself and your apartment from the Coronavirus.
What Should I Expect My Apartment Complex To Do?
To stay completely safe at all times, assume that your apartment complex has done nothing to combat the virus. This is the only way you can know you will stay safe but putting the responsibility in your hands.
Practically though, many apartment complexes are doing things like putting hand sanitizer or a box of wipes by the main doors of all their buildings. At my own apartment complex, we have changed up the cleaning routine, so more focus, for the time being, is keeping smooth, flat surfaces sterilized and sanitized, especially those surfaces like mailboxes and doorknobs that people are having constant contact with.
The Journal Of Hospital Infection shows that the Coronavirus can stay on smooth surfaces like steel for up to nine days. More porous surfaces like cardboard and paper, the virus seems to only be able to survive for up to a day. But that is still plenty long enough for someone else to get infected if the conditions are right.
The few things that a landlord can do is simply put out the same notices that everyone has been getting on their TV and through the news lately. Wash your hands frequently, avoid large group gatherings, and avoid touching your face.
But it will be ultimately up to each individual person to live clean and be responsible not only for not contracting the virus but also in preventing the spread to other people.
It is hard for a landlord to do much else in these circumstances until someone in their apartment complex has been identified. Then it is up to them to obey the guidance put out by the National Apartment Association.
The Coronavirus has not been shown to spread through a building’s ventilation system, which is why staying inside is the best way to prevent getting or spreading the virus in any way.
In the vast majority of all cases, a person needs to be in close proximity to another person with the virus to be able to spread it. It can’t just float up the vent from one person’s unit to another.
This should give those of you worried about your close proximity to other people a bit of peace of mind when it comes to living in an apartment right now. So the main areas you are going to need to worry about are the doorknobs on the outside of your apartment, and any other surfaces that people can readily touch at any given time.
What Should I Do To Prevent The Spread Of Coronavirus In My Apartment Building?
The other thing that the CDC guidance touches on is the cleaning and disinfecting procedures that you should use to keep your apartment clean.
The two main points that the CDC points out are:
“Cleaning refers to the removal of germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces. Cleaning does not kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection.
Disinfecting refers to using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs on a surface after cleaning, it can further lower the risk of spreading infection.”
The other aspect of apartment living that is harder to accomplish because of the close proximity of people living together is limiting your contact with your fellow tenants. This means staying away from gatherings, cookouts, or anyplace where people are getting together.
If you want to talk to your fellow neighbor about the craziness that is going on, stay on your own porch or balcony, or simply just ring them up and say hi to them on the phone. They realize that this is a new time for everyone and they will be happy you have their health, and the health of others in mind.
How To Keep My Apartment Coronavirus Free
Apartment School Recommends:
To help you combat the coronavirus and keep your apartment as clean and safe as possible, Apartment School recommends doing the following:
Wash Your Hands With Soap And Water
Probably the single most important thing you can do to stop the spread of the virus outside of social distancing.
Most time, the virus is going to be transmitted by the germs that are on the surfaces that tons of people touch on a daily basis. Even though it is a pain, and takes time out of your day that you are not normally used to, washing your hands regularly, with a good soap, is the best prevention.
Method Foaming Hand Soap will do the trick in an easy and effective way for you. As always, make sure that you are using hot water and washing your hands for at least 20 seconds to ensure that they are thoroughly disinfected.
Anytime you come inside from doing ANYTHING, make sure to wash your hands with soap. You are touching doorknobs and doors which are smooth surfaces that a ton of people are going to have touched. Other residences, the mailman, maintenance people, and everybody else who you didn’t see, all have been touching the same surfaces you do when you step out of your apartment. Make sure you wash your hands GOOD multiple times a day.
Use Bleach
One of the most effective household chemicals that works extremely well against the Coronavirus is bleach. Sodium Hypochlorite is the main ingredient in bleach, and as you probably know, it kills most organic substances if left to sit it in long enough.
When using bleach, you can use the traditional bottle of bleach, in which case, you will want to just use the instructions on the bottle.
A product as simple as Soft Scrub Surface Cleaning with Bleach is perfect for cleaning around your apartment. It is gentle on surfaces, and yet it kills 99.9% of all germs. On their own advertisements, they tout being able to kill the Rhinovirus, Influenza A, and H1N1 or Swine Flu.
Take advantage and pick some of this up on Amazon while there are still bottles of it left to ship.
Avoid Gatherings
This means no congregating with your fellow tenants. Make plans to do something in a month or so when the weather warms up, or a community cookout when the threat of the virus isn’t as high as it currently is.
Also, that means not having other people watch your kids, or by having your kids just run all over the building as normal. While children are less susceptible to the worst of the symptoms of the Coronavirus, they can still carry it and spread it around to people who are more susceptible to immune issues.
Take Responsibility For Yourself
When you boil it down, you are responsible for you. Whether or not your individual landlord does anything about the surfaces that people touch hundreds of times a day or not, you need to take the steps to make sure you are safe in your apartment.
Wash your hands multiple times a day, especially when you go out of your apartment, for at least 20 seconds each time using hot water.
Use bleach and surface wipes that have bleach in them to disinfect your surfaces and countertops.
And make sure to stay away from congregating with people for the time being. Yes, that is difficult to do, and cabin fever is a real thing, but being bored and feeling like you are cooped up for a few days or weeks is a vast sight better than being on a ventilator.
You can keep yourself, your family, and your apartment safe and free of the Coronavirus just by taking these few, easy steps.
