How to keep your apartment or dorm room clean when a roommate is sick.
The COVID-19 pandemic has everyone thinking about the spread of germs a little more carefully. Whether you or your roommate has COVID-19 or just a run-of-the-mill sore throat, it’s a good idea to learn the best practices for staying healthy when you’re sharing a living space with the person who is ill. This will help you prevent future infection.
Stay home if someone is sick.
If your roommate is sick, for example, catches a virus, they should stay home until they feel better. If someone in your household has COVID-19 or believes they do, test, and then follow current protocol. If one roommate has the virus, everyone else has been exposed, too. If someone has an illness that isn’t COVID-19, they should still stay home to avoid getting others sick.
Isolate the sick person as much as possible.
The most important way to prevent the spread of germs within your dorm or apartment is to avoid close contact with the sick person. This is especially true if you know or suspect your roommate or housemate has COVID-19. The coronavirus spreads primarily via respiratory droplets which are emitted when the sick person is breathing, talking, sneezing, or coughing. The droplets can land in the eyes, noses, and mouths of nearby people or on surfaces where people can come into contact with them through touch.
That means the sick person should stay in their room with the door closed. If they can use a separate bathroom, they should. No one else in the home should use that bathroom while the person is sick. If someone in the household is caring for the sick person by bringing them food, they should leave the food at the sick person’s door. They should then walk away. The sick person can then take the food inside their room, eat it there, and wash their dishes separately.
What if there is only one bathroom?
If your dorm room or apartment only has one bathroom, when the sick person needs to eat or use the bathroom, they should let the other roommates know so they can make themselves scarce. Everyone in the house should follow these additional precautions:
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The sick person should wear a mask and gloves, if possible, when using the common areas.
- The sick person should use separate towels in the kitchen and bathroom.
- Airflow is important for preventing the spread of viruses, so if possible, the sick person should open the windows when they’re using these common areas. Everyone should close the lid to the toilet before they flush. When the sick person is done using the bathroom or the kitchen, they should clean surfaces they touched using a standard household disinfectant.
Don’t forget to handle trash with care.
A sick person will likely generate trash like used tissues that can spread germs. Make sure the person has their own lined trash can, double-bag that trash, and let it sit in their room for 72 hours before taking it to the dumpster. The same goes for trash that contains used gloves, disposable masks, and disposable wipes. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds after taking the trash out, and don’t forget to disinfect the doorknobs afterwards, too.
Deep clean once the person has recovered.
Once the person is feeling better, deep clean your space to rid the area of lingering germs.
Prevent infection by keeping your space clean.
Especially if you live in a dense city, frequent cleaning can help keep pathogens at bay.
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Routinely disinfect surfaces like countertops, doorknobs, light switches, and faucets—once a day or once every other day.
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Disinfect your phone daily,
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Change out hand towels in the kitchen and bathroom once every two days or so, and make sure when you do laundry, you carry it in a container like a bag or basket rather than your arms.
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Mop the floors once a week, and keep shoes near the front door.
Even though the pandemic is over, cold and flu season rears its head every year. Staying home, washing your hands, and isolating a sick roommate will always be the best plan of attack when viruses go on the defense.
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