Chapter Contents
Introduction
Home hygiene is about identifying the ‘critical hygiene points’ in the home, taking action to stop the spread of germs, and restricting the spread of illness when it breaks out.
Germs can be present in the home from a number of sources, including:
- Contaminated food
- Bacteria, viruses and parasites within the human body that can contaminate hands, equipment, surfaces and food
- Bacteria, viruses and moulds present in the air
Germs transmit and spread through coughs and sneezes, faeces, vomit, blood, physical contact between surfaces (e.g. from hand to door handle, from dishcloth to work surfaces). Everyone is susceptible to infection but certain people are more vulnerable, e.g. the elderly and people with suppressed immune systems.
Good hygiene
Preventing the spread of infection can be achieved by good hygiene. This includes personal hygiene (e.g. hand washing), environmental hygiene (e.g. cleaning surfaces in the home) and food hygiene (e.g. cooking and storing food hygienically). The task is not to remove all germs from the home, but to remove as many as possible, where there is a risk of them spreading and causing infection. Germs of particular concern include Salmonella, Campylobacter, Norovirus and Influenza.
‘Critical hygiene points’ in the home, where the presence of germs presents a significant risk of the germs spreading and causing infection include:
- Toilets
- Cleaning cloths, sponges
- Hands
- Kitchen surfaces, chopping boards
- Taps, door handles
- Refrigerator
- Laundry soiled by bodily fluids
Particular care should be taken to ensure that these are regularly cleaned with soap and hot water, using disinfectant/bleach where appropriate. Rapid drying is also effective in controlling germs.
Other parts of the home, where transmission of germs is less likely (e.g. floors, walls, general laundry), should be cleaned with warm water and detergent, wet dusting, dry dusting, vacuuming, and laundering at 40°c.
Training opportunities: Food Safety and Hygiene and Infection Prevention and Control. Book on Learnative.
Personal Hygiene Advice
- Washing hands with warm water and antibacterial soap will remove germs.
- Hands should always be washed before preparing food, immediately after handling raw meat/poultry, before eating, after using the toilet, after contact with contaminated areas such as waste bins, after handling pets and pet cages, and whenever hands are dirty.
- Any members of the household who have a cold/flu virus should wash their hands with warm water and soap regularly. Use disposable tissues rather than handkerchiefs when unwell with a cold.
- Wash underwear, personal towels and heavily soiled clothing at 60°c to remove germs.
- Dry laundry as quickly as possible as germs multiply rapidly in damp conditions. Do not leave wet laundry in the washing machine overnight.
Environmental Hygiene Advice
- Regularly change dishcloths. Boil wash/disinfect reusable cloths.
- Use separate cloths in the kitchen and bathroom, and store them separately.
- Wear rubber gloves when cleaning the toilet. Do not use these gloves for any other cleaning task.
- Clean toilet bowls using toilet cleaner and a brush every few days. Remove lime scale build-up. Clean the toilet seat with disinfectant. If a member of the household has diarrhoea and/or vomiting, clean all parts of the toilet with disinfectant every time they use the toilet while they are ill.
- Regularly change hand towels and tea-towels, and don’t use these to dry anything other than clean hands/clean dishes
- Clean kitchen surfaces and your fridge regularly.
- Vacuum carpets and soft furnishings at least weekly. Regular steam cleaning can help remove germs.
- Don’t allow rubbish to accumulate. Store toys in a clean container or cupboard. Clean toys frequently (scrub with hot water and detergent, or put them in the dishwasher) and put soft toys in the washing machine regularly.
- Pets carry germs in their faeces, on their fur, paws and in their mouth. Keep pets away from food, dishes and worktops. Ensure pet beds and feeding areas are kept clean and that faeces are removed promptly.
- Don’t leave food or food debris around either inside the house or outside (picnics, barbecues, take-away food) where it will attract vermin, pets and other animals.
- If you notice signs of infestation have it dealt with professionally if it is not something you can deal with safely yourself. Clean up scrupulously until the infestation has been dealt with.
Food Hygiene Advice
- Keep separate chopping boards for raw and ready to eat foods to avoid cross contamination. Wash boards with hot soapy water and replace any chopping boards that are split or have a worn surface.
- Open the fridge door as little as possible to maintain a constant temperature. The warmest part of fridge should never exceed 5°C – use a fridge thermometer to measure the temperature.
- Store washed salad items, cooked and ready to eat items at the top or in the salad compartment, and raw or defrosting meats at the bottom.
- Keep raw meat in a dish/sealed container in the fridge to avoid meat juices dripping onto other foods, and keep all food in the fridge covered.
- Cool hot foods to room temperature before refrigerating. Avoid leaving food out of the fridge for longer than 90 minutes.
- Hands are one of the easiest ways to spread germs. Wash your hands before you start and during preparation, specifically after handling raw meat, and before handling salads and chilled food.
- Encourage children/young people to wash their hands before eating.
- Follow manufacturer’s instructions when preparing food and make sure food is fully cooked. Pay particular attention to barbecued food which may burn on the outside whilst still being raw on the inside.
- Don’t prepare food if you have diarrhoea and/or vomiting or have infected cuts or sores.
Find information about food safety here.
