NAR Offers Great Ways to Disinfect Our Homes For Sale

Before the 40 cases of COVID-19 arrived in North Carolina, Realtors® often had to show 8-10 homes at a time. Do you think that has slowed down? It has a bit today but last week, not so much. This week, we are taking precautions. We are carrying wipes, gloves and sprays for us and our clients into some clean, some not-so clean homes across the state. The National Association of Realtors® wants to make sure we ALL are disinfecting correctly to stave away the virus which isn't at all easy when store shelves are empty! To combat this virus, you’ll want your big guns: bleach, rubbing alcohol, and hot water.

With your preferred disinfectant of at least 70% alcohol or bleach, wipe down high-touch surfaces like doorknobs, light switches, tables, remotes, banisters, toilets, sinks, and faucets daily. If you are traveling by car, wipe the steering wheel, dashboard, indoor and outdoor door handles. And DON'T forget your phone! Contact time is another key aspect of surface sanitizing. "Disinfection isn't instantaneous," says Erica Marie Hartman, an environmental microbiologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill, [For a bleach solution], you want to leave it on the surface for 10 minutes before wiping it off." There are a lot of places I don't want to leave bleach sitting for 10 minutes. This changes if you already have someone sick in your home. For more info, click here.