Disinfecting

[Pajarita]

With the coronavirus outbreak, there is a lot of talk about disinfecting so don't forget the wonderful Clorox! This is always the number one item on all disinfection protocols because it's cheap, it's easy to get and IT WORKS!

I have always used soap and water for all the produce. I wash fruits like apples, pears, cantaloupe (yes, even the ones that you peel!) with a soaped up sponge, scrub all over them, then leave them with the soap on for about 10 minutes, then rinse. The greens, I usually soak in cold water with a goodly squirt of soap in it for about 10 or 15 minutes and then rinse carefully. I have never had a single ecoli infection in any of my birds (as well as dogs, cats or humans) in all the years I've had them. But now, because of the coronavirus problem (I am at high risk because of three things: age, asthma and autoimmune disease and my husband has been driving me crazy about it because he is terrified I am going to get it and die), I have been spraying ALL the produce with a solution I make myself of about 10% Clorox and 90% water (this is not something I have done now, I always have this solution in a spray bottle handy for a quick wipe of counters, floors, etc), I try to be as thorough as I can in terms of making sure that the entire surface is covered, I leave it on for a few minutes and then rinse very thoroughly. It is perfectly safe to use on produce, it does not damage it in any way and even if the surface is very porous and ends up absorbing a bit (I seriously doubt it), it's perfectly safe to consume as Clorox in small quantities is not poisonous (soldiers used to carry a little vial of it in their packs to use in water that might not be 100% potable).

[Michael]

Is there any bleachy aftertaste? Does your house smell like a swimming pool?

[Pajarita]

No, there is absolutely no aftertaste whatsoever (all it takes is to rinse well - but I know there is no bad taste for a fact because I eat the same fruits my birds get for breakfast every morning with them and I do the same for my salad greens now) and my house smells like lavender most of the time because I use lavender EVERYTHING: floor cleaner, clothes detergent and softener AND lavender Clorox. I LOVE lavender (I even drink lavender tea, sometimes) and I credit it for my never getting depressed or anxious during my recuperation from cancer surgery and radiation treatment (my mother would change my bed every morning -there is NOTHING I like better than a fresh, clean, sweet-smelling bed to get into- and spray lavender all over my bed and in my room two and three times a day).

And the typical 'chlorine' smell in pools does not come from the chlorine itself, it comes from chloramines which are formed when chlorine is mixed with ammonia (which comes from sweat or urine). No ammonia, no 'pool smell'. The fact is that when pools smell, it's not because the water has too much chlorine, it's because the water is too dirty and needs to be changed.