It's not surprising that a global
pandemic would majorly impact every aspect of daily life for example grocery
shopping a once mundane task buying groceries has become stressful confusing
and for some scary there's a lot of different information swirling around
out there so we're here to help you figure it out with the ten untold truths
about sanitizing your groceries strategize pre coronavirus you might
have done your groceries mindlessly the extent of planning was putting together
a list if that these days there's no such thing as spontaneity when it comes
to running those essential errands if your food supply is running low it's
time to put together a game plan for your next grocery trip make a detailed
list of everything you need and if possible try to organize it aisle by
aisle many supermarkets are asking customers to follow arrows on the floor
meaning that if you forget to pick up something in the bread section you'll
have to go through the entire store all over again in order to get it if you
know exactly what you need and where to find it you'll be in and out as quickly
as possible minimizing your risk of exposure
additionally you'll want to make sure you give yourself plenty of time because
of social distancing rules everything takes longer than usual it's important
to make sure you have all necessary accessories on hand a mask gloves Lysol
wipes hand sanitizer all the big players this way you can make sure you're
protecting yourself as well as others finally if you plan on sanitizing your
groceries have everything ready to do so as soon as you get home is it really
necessary the question everyone's asking is do we have to clean our groceries and
the answers have been very mixed
now some people recommend it others say that it's being overly cautious although
it could be argued that if there were ever a time to be overly cautious it's
now there's evidence that the novel coronavirus can survive on surfaces made
of cardboard metal and plastic for varying but significant lengths of time
this means that while it's still unlikely that you could contract kovat
19 from a box of Cheerios it's still a good idea to wash things like cans
cardboard boxes and plastic containers sorry
it's less clear however whether or not it can survive on produce this is also
new and everyone is still learning so there are a lot of unanswered questions
right now still it's better to be safe than sorry
so if you feel more comfortable having washed all the groceries that enter your
home then you should absolutely go for it what will you need I only have one
Clorox wipe that has to last till my next birthday and it's already lost a
lot of its moisture if you're going to be cleaning your groceries you might be
wondering what you need like we said it's important to plan ahead it's a
great idea to wear a mask while you're out at the supermarket but it's not
necessary to wear while you're sanitizing your groceries you can choose
whether or not you want to wear gloves a lot of people like them because they
serve as a reminder not to touch their face you should always wash your hands
or change your gloves in between cleaning groceries and touching items
that have already been cleaned so if you plan on wearing gloves
you should have several extra pairs on hand you'll need your disinfectant of
choice whether that's a package of Lysol wipes or warm soapy water if you choose
the latter grab some paper towels or old rags to use to wipe everything down you
may also want to consider laying newspaper or paper towels on the floor
for you to place your groceries on before cleaning additionally it's a good
idea to have a garbage nearby so that you can easily dispose of gloves paper
towels and wipes if you plan on washing your fresh produce as well it's
recommended that you have a veggie brush on hand for produce you'll need access
to a sink or a basin of warm water no soap here Santa
station I just set up hand sanitizing stations around the office no no no they
will cost you your life there's not really any point to washing your
groceries if all the surfaces of your home end up contaminated in the process
so it's recommended that you set up a place for sanitizing your groceries
where you choose to set up is going to depend on a few variables including the
layout of your home and the size of your grocery haul some people like to set up
in their garage or entranceway while others prefer to take it into the
kitchen especially if they want to use the sink before setting up you should
wipe everything down this is particularly important for the area
where you'll be setting your freshly cleaned groceries
make sure there's a clear distinction between where you'll be keeping to be
cleaned and already cleaned groceries you'll really want to avoid mix-ups here
for example uncleaned products can be kept on the floor and cleaned products
can be placed on the kitchen counter or you can divide the sections with a piece
of tape it's up to you just make sure you know what goes where before you get
started make sure you've got everything you need
ideally you'll clean everything in one shot so that you're not going back and
forth from the Sanitation station to other parts of your home keep in mind
that the job's not done when you finished washing the groceries it's key
that you also wipe down every surface you or your unsanitized groceries have
touched fresh produce I only eat fresh fruits and vegetables as we mentioned
before fresh produce is a little different because we don't actually know
if the virus can survive on it that being said you should be washing your
produce anyways so why not be safe and do it right when you get home the
procedure is the same as usual wash your fruits and veggies in cool
water and dry them off with a paper towel or fresh cloth root vegetables
fruits with a rind or particularly solid produce such as apples can be further
scrubbed with a vegetable brush of course make sure the brush is clean
before using it it kind of defeats the purpose if you don't clean it between
uses if you purchase greens that are not pre washed and packaged in plastic
containers like a head of lettuce or cabbage pull off the outer layer
of leaves and throw them out then take the rest apart and carefully clean each
leaf it's good to do this all the time because there tends to be dirt stuck in
the base of the head of lettuce and of course before you start washing your
fruits and veggies wash your hands it's always recommended to wash your hands
before handling food but these days it never hurts to put the reminder out
there scrub-a-dub-dub what it just has a mop it's of floor wax in it washing
fruits and vegetables with water as we always have is the best way to clean
them you shouldn't use soap and you definitely shouldn't use harsher
disinfectants like bleach while cleaning them ingesting these kinds of cleaners
is dangerous and the last thing you want is for your efforts to stay healthy to
lead to a trip to the ER that being said soapy water is perfectly safe for
cleaning the jars cans cardboard boxes and plastic containers you bring home
it's also perfectly safe to use other cleaning products or sanitizing wipes on
them if you prefer but you really don't want to use those products directly on
food we recommend washing your fresh produce separately from your other
groceries just to keep things from getting too chaotic you're in for a
surprise
with the exception of fruits and vegetables washing our groceries is a
new experience for most of us if you haven't sanitized your groceries yet you
might be in for a bit of a nasty surprise if you're already an old hand
at the whole cleaning your groceries thing well you know the truth groceries
are surprisingly and uncomfortably dirty now this may not be the case for every
supermarket all the time but many of you have probably noticed the water in your
sink gradually turning brown as you wash your groceries it's just a little dust
and nothing to really be concerned about but it can be kind of alarming the first
time you wipe down a box of granola bars and the rag comes away dirty rags by the
very nature are dirty the rag is a filthy animal grocery store employees do
their best to dust the shelves but it's tough to get everything perfectly clean
and even then dust accumulates throughout the day it's good to have a
heads up before you embark on your first grocery washing adventure outer
packaging cleaning groceries is a hassle especially since most people are doing
bigger holes than usual so as to limit the number of times they have to go out
in public a great way to cut back on the work is to simply throw away your
groceries outer packaging whenever possible because the packages are sealed
you don't have to worry about what's inside being contaminated so it doesn't
need sanitizing for example take the bag of cereal out of the box throw away the
box and put the bag of cereal in your pantry if you're feeling ambitious you
can even transfer it into a Tupperware for more effective storage I would
always see where cereal boxes open and the cereal would get stale and so what
day I can't Bowl but you have this waiting for me things like granola bars
which come individually wrapped inside a box are even easier to store just dump
them out and you're good to go as always be sure to wash your hands before
touching the clean products like the granola bars or bag of cereal you also
want to avoid touching the outer packaging and then touching what's
inside this leads to cross-contamination which means you'll have to wash the
clean products inside the box anyways what about grocery bags man without bats
here on register channel I have a bag I just forgot my bag we've learned to be
environmentally conscious so it feels wrong to switch back to plastic or even
paper bags however a lot of people are worried about carrying the virus back
into their home on their reusable bags it's way more likely to catch the virus
through person-to-person contact than from the surface of an object but that
doesn't mean that there's no risk luckily experts say that you don't have
to stop using reusable bags if you're worried there are a couple of things you
can do to ensure that your reusable grocery bags are clean and safe to use
you can always wash them when you return home from your trip to the grocery store
how you go about doing that will depend on what the bags made of and the
instructions from the manufacturer you might be able to throw it in the washing
machine no or you may have to wash it by hand
your other option is to leave the bag in a closet or in your garage basically
anywhere you won't touch it until your next trip to the supermarket whoa no
touchy no touchy no type since the virus can only survive on its surface for a
few days at most it'll be safe to use by that avoid
touching your face while handling the bags and after you've brought your
groceries inside remember to clean any surfaces your bags might have touched
for those of you using disposable bags transfer your groceries into your
sanitation station then throw the bag into the garbage immediately washing
your hands after touching it of course and as always wash your hands you should
wash your hands you bet CP everyone saying it but it really can't be said
enough washing your hands is the best way to keep healthy it's also a key step
in sanitizing your groceries during the process of washing your recently
purchased food you'll probably end up washing your hands so many times that
your skin starts to burn when exactly should you be washing or sanitizing your
hands well you should do so before you leave to go grocery shopping when you're
leaving the grocery store and when you return home you should also wash your
hands after you've brought all your groceries into your sanitation station
before you start the cleaning process you're cleaning your groceries you
should sanitize your hands before touching cleaned groceries or before
leaving the designated sanitation area for other parts of your home you should
also wash your hands before and after putting your freshly sanitized groceries
away always avoid touching your face without
washing your hands first finally for good measure give your hands
one last scrub after you've finished wiping down your sanitation station if
you choose to wear gloves the same rules apply you should either replace them
with a new pair or wash your hands with your gloves on at all of these time
points is it a hassle yeah but is your health worth it absolutely
tap that screen for another great video and to all our subscribers thanks and be
sure to ring that notification Bell