How long do you need to quarantine new stuff before bringing it into your home?

[cheeser]

Are there any guidelines as to how long you should quarantine new items that you bought at the store or ordered online before you bring them into your home?

I've been trying to leave things in the garage or the trunk of my car for 5 days, unless it's something that needs to go in the fridge or freezer. But I was just wondering if I'm being overly paranoid, or not paranoid enough.

 

[Jem]

It has been shown that the virus lives only up to 24 hours on cardboard surfaces and up to 3 days on plastic and metal.
So I would say that leaving your stuff in the garage for 5 days is plenty. I won't say overboard though, because peace of mind counts for lot these days.
Another thing to keep in mind, NOT that I want people to be less careful, but even though the virus lives up to 3 days on plastic for example, it does begin to die off, so the chance of contamination lessens with each passing hour. Especially if you wash your hands and the surfaces they were on before and after handling them.

 

[WillowMarie]

I found this video very helpful. This is an updated video. He seems a bit tired in this video, but the previous video he also wiped his hands with the paper towel that had cleaner on it every item or two he did. I found this video very helpful. When I clean items, I also place them on the clean side and wipe where my hands touched as an extra precaution. But like he mentions in the video, just do the best you can.

From what I've heard, if something does not need to come in the house yet, cardboard should be good after 1 day, plastic after 3. Since everything comes in plastic grocery bags here, my mom leaves grocery bags with items that do not need to be brought in right away in the garage for 3 days. Five days sound just fine, also!

I hope this helps!

Also, if you get any prepared food/take-out, carefully transfer all the food onto plates/containers and throw out all packaging. Heating the prepared food in the microwave before you eat it is supposed to help, too.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

We ordered some detergent from Amazon. My husband opened the box in the garage and wiped the bottle down with a Clorox wipe. Threw the box away immediately, then came inside and washed his hands thoroughly as I went behind him and wiped off the door handle, etc. For groceries, we wiped everything down as we put it in the buggy and sprayed all the bags with an alcohol solution before we put them in the trunk.

 

[misty8723]

Dr. Sanjay Gupta video

I have been unable to find wipes or anything like that, so I've been using bar soap on a paper towel to wipe them down.

 

[catapault]

I have been using 1 Tablespoon bleach to a pint of water. Some sites say 4 teaspoons to a pint of water, which is a little stronger. Saturate a thin washcloth, wring out, and use to wipe hard surfaces such as countertops, plastic milk jug and similar, and my hands. Need to mix fresh every 3 or 4 days as it degrades with time, temperature, sunlight.

 

[cheeser]

It has been shown that the virus lives only up to 24 hours on cardboard surfaces and up to 3 days on plastic and metal.
So I would say that leaving your stuff in the garage for 5 days is plenty. I won't say overboard though, because peace of mind counts for lot these days.
Another thing to keep in mind, NOT that I want people to be less careful, but even though the virus lives up to 3 days on plastic for example, it does begin to die off, so the chance of contamination lessens with each passing hour. Especially if you wash your hands and the surfaces they were on before and after handling them.

Cool! Thanks much. That helps to put my mind at ease...well, as much as it can be these days.

 

[cheeser]

I found this video very helpful. This is an updated video. He seems a bit tired in this video, but the previous video he also wiped his hands with the paper towel that had cleaner on it every item or two he did. I found this video very helpful. When I clean items, I also place them on the clean side and wipe where my hands touched as an extra precaution. But like he mentions in the video, just do the best you can.

From what I've heard, if something does not need to come in the house yet, cardboard should be good after 1 day, plastic after 3. Since everything comes in plastic grocery bags here, my mom leaves grocery bags with items that do not need to be brought in right away in the garage for 3 days. Five days sound just fine, also!

I hope this helps!

Also, if you get any prepared food/take-out, carefully transfer all the food onto plates/containers and throw out all packaging. Heating the prepared food in the microwave before you eat it is supposed to help, too.

Thanks bunches. That was very helpful. I especially like how he keeps saying to just do the best you can, which helps me feel a little less guilty.

We had pretty much stopped going to the stores for any routine shopping quite some time ago, as we were caring for my father at home 24/7 without any outside help before he passed away. Suffice it to say, we hadn't been able to keep up with the news during that time, so we had no idea how much this virus situation had gotten out of hand until we tried to pick up some groceries and cleaning supplies the day after Dad died. So we've been doing our best to try to make whatever soap and disinfectants we had on hand to last as long as we can, since we have no idea when we'll be able to get any more. But I was able to find a couple of gallons of cleaning vinegar this morning, so that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

On the bright side, at least I don't have to worry about people dropping by and seeing how I've fallen woefully behind on my housework these days.

 

[cheeser]

We ordered some detergent from Amazon. My husband opened the box in the garage and wiped the bottle down with a Clorox wipe. Threw the box away immediately, then came inside and washed his hands thoroughly as I went behind him and wiped off the door handle, etc. For groceries, we wiped everything down as we put it in the buggy and sprayed all the bags with an alcohol solution before we put them in the trunk.

Oh, gosh, I wish we had enough disinfectants on hand to be able to wipe everything down like that! For now, I guess I'll just have to live vicariously though you and others.

 

[cheeser]

Dr. Sanjay Gupta video

I have been unable to find wipes or anything like that, so I've been using bar soap on a paper towel to wipe them down.

Alas, our paper towel supply is running out. Thank goodness I still have my son's old cloth diapers! They've really come in handy lately.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

Oh, gosh, I wish we had enough disinfectants on hand to be able to wipe everything down like that! For now, I guess I'll just have to live vicariously though you and others.

We had two unopened Sam's Club disinfecting wipes from a long time ago. Those things are gold now, lol! We are also very fortunate because B can bring home 200 proof isopropyl from his work, which we then dilute to 70%. Perks of having a lab rat husband!

 

[cheeser]

I have been using 1 Tablespoon bleach to a pint of water. Some sites say 4 teaspoons to a pint of water, which is a little stronger. Saturate a thin washcloth, wring out, and use to wipe hard surfaces such as countertops, plastic milk jug and similar, and my hands. Need to mix fresh every 3 or 4 days as it degrades with time, temperature, sunlight.

Thanks!

Having a Hispanic father who grew up in Cajun country, I have to admit I was a little disappointed that this was just a joke. Heaven knows we always have plenty of hot sauce on hand!

 

[cheeser]

We had two unopened Sam's Club disinfecting wipes from a long time ago. Those things are gold now, lol! We are also very fortunate because B can bring home 200 proof isopropyl from his work, which we then dilute to 70%. Perks of having a lab rat husband!

That's awesome!

 

[susanm9006]

You can also disinfect with hydrogen peroxide. Not as stinky as bleach.

 

[cheeser]

You can also disinfect with hydrogen peroxide. Not as stinky as bleach.

I haven't seen that at the stores, either. The shelves are bare as they can be.

Honestly, sometimes I wonder if people are really using all of the disinfectants that they're buying, or if they just have good intentions -- kinda like I do when yarn goes on sale.

I did get a bit puzzled when I went to one store this morning, and found a ton of Easter baskets where the toilet paper would normally go.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

I haven't been sanitizing anything that I get from the store. I wash my hands a lot and I just happen to have not gone very many places in the last few weeks. If I get stuff from the store, I'm usually not using it right away, so it will be staying in a cupboard at least for a day anyway.

 

[lutece]

We go by the rule of thumb, "24 hours for cardboard and paper, 3 days for anything else."

For groceries, this is our current routine:

1. set aside shelf stable items to go into quarantine for a few days.
2. wash lettuce, broccoli, etc. in cool running water and dry in the salad spinner before putting away.
3. wash things with rinds (avocados, oranges, etc) with soap and water, dry them and put away
4. wash the exterior of packaged items (cheese, milk, frozen food, etc) with soap and water, dry them and put away
5. wash the kitchen counter, sink, and hands with soap and water after processing all of the groceries.

We don't use wipes or spray disinfectant for grocery items, or household surfaces... just soap and water. We're saving our tiny stash of wipes and disinfectant in case someone in the house gets sick.

 

[cheeser]

I haven't been sanitizing anything that I get from the store. I wash my hands a lot and I just happen to have not gone very many places in the last few weeks. If I get stuff from the store, I'm usually not using it right away, so it will be staying in a cupboard at least for a day anyway.

Well, to be honest, we had already been overly cautious anyway before this all happened, as Dad had been sick, and we have a cat with a compromised immune system. We're just trying to be extra cautious right now because of this virus, and because we're all so exhausted, our immune systems are probably shot at this point.

Thankfully, I was able to scrounge up enough kitty supplies to last us for at least another two weeks, so I'm going to try not to make any more trips to the store in the foreseeable future, especially with my hay fever giving me fits from working in the backyard. I don't want to run the risk of accidentally sneezing on anyone, even if it is just from the tree pollen getting the better of me.

 

[cheeser]

We go by the rule of thumb, "24 hours for cardboard and paper, 3 days for anything else."

For groceries, this is our current routine:

1. set aside shelf stable items to go into quarantine for a few days.
2. wash lettuce, broccoli, etc. in cool running water and dry in the salad spinner before putting away.
3. wash things with rinds (avocados, oranges, etc) with soap and water, dry them and put away
4. wash the exterior of packaged items (cheese, milk, frozen food, etc) with soap and water, dry them and put away
5. wash the kitchen counter, sink, and hands with soap and water after processing all of the groceries.

We don't use wipes or spray disinfectant for grocery items, or household surfaces... just soap and water. We're saving our tiny stash of wipes and disinfectant in case someone in the house gets sick.

Yeah, I know what you mean about keeping any modest disinfectant supplies in reserve, just in case.

Glad you're so well organized! We're a bit behind the curve since things have been a little crazy around here lately, but we're finally starting to get the hang of this, thanks to nice people like y'all.

 

[posiepurrs]

I have been ordering groceries online lately since my husband is ill to reduce risk of exposure. When delivered, I have them leave it on my porch. When they have left, I bring it into the kitchen, clean each item either with soap and water or bleach and put it away. I throw away all packaging (bags, boxes etc immediately in the outside bin. I clean the counters, doorknobs, and anything else that the packages or I have touched and wash my hands. At least once a day I go through the entire house and disinfect all the doorknobs, cabinet pulls, toilet handles light switches or anything else we touch. I am turning into a germaphobe and hypochondriac! The other day I turned the heat up like usual when I got up. it didn't come on but I didn't notice. Later I was FREEZING! I thought I had chills until my husband said something about it. .