There are countless ways to catch a cold while out and about. Shaking hands with others, playing with kids, riding public transportation–it’s easy to expose yourself to cold and flu germs. You’d expect your home to be a safe haven from viruses, bacteria, and other airborne pollutants, right?

The truth is we bring in contaminants into our homes from the outside on our clothes, shoes, mail, packages and more. But toxins in our indoor air at home can also cause sneezing, wheezing, itchy nose and throat, hives, coughing, fatigue, and stomach aches. If you don’t have a cold, impure air can make you feel like you do, and if you do happen to catch one, you’ll just feel worse. Sure, an ordinary air purifier can help, but normal filters that only focus on particle pollution only remove half of the contaminants in the air, and you need a high-quality HEPA filter to remove the smallest, most dangerous pollutants from your air.

AirDoctor is no ordinary air purifier. It captures both particles and gasses (chemical) pollutants, and it is the first affordable purifier of its kind to deliver professional-quality total air purification right in your home. AirDoctor purifiers are also backed by rigorous science and third-party testing to bring you peace of mind.

In fact, AirDoctor was independently tested and proven to remove 99.99% of tested bacteria, including H1N1 (Swine flu). And just last year, AirDoctor 3000 was tested by non-profit research organization MRIGlobal and proven to remove 99.97% of the live SARS-CoV-2 virus from the air in a test chamber in less than 90 seconds. When used properly and along with other best practices like social distancing and mask wearing, the EPA and CDC recommend the use of HEPA purifiers to effectively help reduce the threat of airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors. AirDoctor uses an UltraHEPA filter that captures particles as small as 0.003 microns–that’s 100 times smaller than the HEPA standard, making it effective at removing some of those smallest, most dangerous particles that may pose the greatest risk to your health from the air.

But there are plenty of extra steps you can take to keep your family healthy this season. Try out these four tips to keep your home germ-free:

1. Wipe down door knobsCold and flu viruses are ready and waiting to transfer to the hands as soon as you touch a contaminated handle or door knob. Imagine all the people that go through the doorways of your home each day. Now imagine opening a door, scratch your nose, rubbing your eye, and making yourself a sandwich. Essentially, everyone in your family just scratched your nose, rubbed your eye, and put their fingers all over your sandwich along with you. No wonder you don’t feel well.

Giving each knob in your home a quick swipe with an antibacterial swipe at the end of the day can keep these germs at bay. You may not be able to control the germs that come into your home, but you can keep them from spreading!

2. Wash your clothes and sheets

AirDoctor 5000 can completely change the air in a 1,001 square foot room the expert-recommended four times per hour. AirDoctor has your back covered with pollutants like  pollen, dust, pet dander, mold spores and even formaldehyde. How else do you make sure contaminants aren’t settling into the surfaces of your home?

Soft surfaces like pillows, sheeting, and clothing can absorb a significant amount of germs. Washing these items in hot water (at least 120 degrees) once a week will kill dust mites and get rid of germs. Everyone loves falling asleep on a fresh pair of sheets. You’ll sleep even better knowing you’re breathing in clean air.

3. Sanitize your tech toys

They may look clean, but your tech devices can be surprisingly grungy. Unlike AirDoctor’s  convenient Change Filter Alerts, which tell you when it’s time to change to filter to continue optimal air filtration, your toys have no way of letting you know how dirty they are.

Sorry to be the bearers of bad news (and brace yourselves), but your cell phone is probably the filthiest thing you own. And you press it against your face and tap away at it all day. Your phone, tablet, and keyboard are harboring over tens of thousands of germs–each. Regularly sanitizing these items with antibacterial wipes or speciality cleaning devices will keep you safer from the cold and flu, regardless if they can tell you or not.

 

4. Replace your sponge

One of the many ironies of keeping a clean home is that one of the cleaning product staples is actually the thing that spreads the most germs. Sponges are, in a word, gross. And not replacing them regularly is even more gross. Sponges should be replaced every 1-2 months.

Of course, to keep things affordable, there are ways to extend the life if your sponge without extending bacteria’s reach. For example, soaking your sponge in bleach for a few hours will kill those flu-causing germs. You can even put it in the microwave for a couple minutes, where the heat will destroy germs quickly (just be careful taking it out!).

Purified air is the best way to ensure you and your family stay healthy this cold and flu season, and AirDoctor is the best way to purify the air in your home. Of course, it never hurts to take additional precautionary measures, and the steps above will help keep germs at bay!