Achoo! Welcome to flu season. According to a report released on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control, the flu in America has reached epidemic proportions. Forty six states report widespread flu; five states have closed public schools due to flu outbreaks; and the state of Alabama has declared a state of public health emergency. “Get your flu shot! It’s not too late,” is a common refrain heard daily on TV and in public settings. And that’s sound advice especially at $25-$35 per shot at many local pharmacies and clinics. We also need to be diligent in washing our hands more frequently, avoiding people who are sick and keeping our surroundings clean.

For more ideas on sidestepping the flu this season, news radio stations reached out to America’s Top Cleaning Expert and president and owner of Buckets & Bows Maid Service, Debbie Sardone. Debbie offered practical tips and highlighted surprisingly germy, every day items that need our attention to stay healthy this flu season.

  • Keep your hands away from your mouth, eyes and nose until you can wash your hands with soap and warm water.
  • Wash bleach-safe clothing in hot water and bleach.
  • Give attention to items that are touched by lots of people: shared coffee pot at work, refrigerator door handle, elevator call buttons, hand rails. The inside of the coffee pot may rinsed out but who cleans the pot handle that everyone touches?
  • Be more careful with common items that you carry with you, pick up/put down, bring into your home: your purse, your cell phone, your keys. When you put these items on a dirty table or floor or give them to a valet, you bring those germs home!
  • And know that it isn’t noble to show up for work when you are sick. Stay home!

So cough into your elbow, not your hand. Carry hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. Keep your home surfaces clean with Buckets & Bows Maid Service or eco-friendly, highly-effective cleaners like Red Juice™ from Speed Cleaning™. We’ll get through this flu season together.

To hear more of Debbie’s comments on staying healthier this flu season, follow these links:

Things You Never Thought Covered In Germs

Keep The Flu Virus At Home