Covid 19: Home Care

We all have families to go home to. At La Mer we want to make sure our team as well as yours at home are taking the correct precautions to keep people from harm.

If you haven’t read up on the CDC-recommended preparations for your home, review them here. The CDC also has useful procedures for preparing your family, especially if you’re pregnant or have pets.

GOING OUTSIDE

When going outside, even if it is just for a brief time, it is important to wear your mask at all times. Germs and bacteria travel in the air and can pass on to you as quickly as passing by someone on the same side of the street. Be sure to be practicing a safe 6 feet distance from everyone. Once you return home, we would suggest changing your clothes and cleaning them immediately.

"Tip: Run/walk to the left or right side of someone if you are behind them and cannot stand 6 feet apart next to them. This will take you outside of the coronavirus particle diameter."

MAIL

Now that we are all online or mobile, more and more packages are being delivered to homes. It is important to not receive directly from you mailman. Once he/she has dropped off your package be sure to pick it up with gloves and have sanitizer ready to clean your package before opening it.

"Tip: If you can’t wait for your packages to sit out, wear gloves and sanitize with a Clorox wipe the package and all mail outside or in the garage when you receive it. Take the item out, and leave the box in your recycling can."

HOT BATHS?

Temperatures are not making a difference in the "staying clean and safe" precautions that are being executed. A hot bath or cold bath will have no different impact on cleanliness of yourself. Best practice is to just clean frequently and thoroughly.

High temperatures in washing machines and dryers are encouraged to kill bacteria. Read more below.

CLEANING FREQUENCY

Routine cleaning is necessary to eliminate the virus.There actually isn’t sufficient research on how long coronavirus stays on clothing, so take precautions. If you aren’t able to do laundry, place your clothing in a sealed bag (i.e. garbage bag) or hamper for a day or so. Don’t forget to sanitize the hampers. As you’re doing the laundry, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands after you do the laundry, especially when handling an infected person’s clothing. Stay safe!

"Tip: If you leave the house, change when you come back inside. Up your laundry frequency if you’re going outside on a daily basis."

IS YOUR HOME WASHER/DRYER CUTTING IT?

High temperatures are effective in eliminating most viruses. If you do not have time to wash your own clothes, we suggest you use our team here at La Mer to service you. But in case you do, your washing machine’s “HOT” setting reaches about 130 degrees but always finishes with a cold rinse; dryers reach a maximum of 135 degrees.

FOR INFECTED CLOTHING

Infected clothing of any kind of sickness should be washed at a temperature of 135-150 degrees to kill corona virus. In our opinion the most important part of the laundry cycle is the drying process. This is where the dryer will eliminate the bacteria with its heat. Be sure to check the settings on your washer and dryer to make sure it is reaching the appropriate temperatures for elimination of bacteria . If it doesn’t, send in your clothing to us to clean for you. If you’re unable to send in your garments and linens to us, we recommend using the highest temperature on your machines for a hot water wash. When pressing or steaming clothing, use a hot steam press.

"Tip: When doing the wash, use the “HOT” temperature setting. When drying, use the hottest temperature setting possible. When in doubt, send in clothing for a proper cleaning to be safe."

CLEAN THE MACHINES

Keep your wet cleaning machines updated and cleaned frequently. This is where most bacteria can be made and kept with. A good way to everything is by pouring in a cup of vinegar and running a cycle with no clothing inside.