Working from home?

Working remotely and feeling safe tucked away in your home office?

Hate to tell you this, but you may not be as safe as you think.

AdvantaClean Systems, which has 230 franchises in 33 states, warns that people who are isolating can nevertheless manage to contaminate their home office sanctuary.

How? By depositing germs they picked up at the grocery store, gas station or pharmacy.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the novel coronavirus may remain viable on surfaces for days. The CDC recommends frequent disinfecting of commonly used surfaces.

The cleaning company offers these tips for sanitizing a home office:

Hot spots: Be mindful of commonly touched areas of your workspace, including a desk, keyboard, mouse, phone and personal files.

Wipe this way: People commonly wipe down a surface in a circular or back-and-forth fashion. Doing it that way only re-deposits germs that were just wiped up. A better way is to wipe commonly touched surfaces in a single direction.

Use bleach: Use diluted household bleach solutions if appropriate for the surface. Unexpired household bleach will be effective against coronaviruses when properly diluted.

Never mix household bleach with ammonia or any other cleanser.

To make a bleach solution, mix 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon of water, or 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water.

Keep surface wet: Regardless of the cleaning solution used, keep the surface wet for several minutes to ensure germs are killed.

Color-coded cleaning: Create a color-coded system of cleaning cloths for specific spaces around the home and office. This will help prevent cross-contamination.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the novel coronavirus may remain viable on surfaces for days.