What to do first after 36 hours of c-diff full out diarrhea on bed, sheets, floor, rug, wood floor, shower & bath, contaminated clothes?
What do you use? What kind of bleach? Bleach to water ratio?
Soiled laundry needs to be cleaned. Do I get laundry powder bleach or can I use liquid bleach?
What kind of gloves can I use with bleach wipe?
How to ventilate? should I get a gas mask?
I feel exhausted writing this list. Can you help?
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I wore good quality gloves (Playtex?) on top of latex or vinyl ones, when I cleaned. I can't really say what the ratio of bleach-to-water was. I just made sure that I wasn't knocked out by the smell.
For dishes, I added bleach (regular Clorox, no fancy scents) to the sink water and then soaked, washed and rinsed. Then, I put those dishes in the dishwasher and ran it when it was full. I used paper towels for a lot of things, also.
For the bathroom, I did regular cleaning, but made sure that I added bleach to the water that I used. (Make sure that you aren't mixing cleaners that can't be mixed with bleach.) When done and dry, I used clean bleach water and towels to re-wipe surfaces that are touched often (vanity, faucets, door knob, etc.). I left those surfaces very wet and let them air dry. I read somewhere that leaving bleach on the surfaces kills the spores. I bought large packages of white towels to clean. I washed them and threw them away after one use. I didn't want to discard them with infectious waste still on them.
For clothes, I washed them separately from mine. I added bleach to white clothes. If something was soiled with waste that could be ruined by using bleach, I just washed it in soap and water and threw it away. As far as laundry soap goes, I used what I normally do - Tide powder.
For ventilation, I opened up a window where I was working. I'm not a fan of the bleach smell. Fortunately, it was summer.
It may sound like a lot of trouble, but I got used to it quickly. My goal was to not catch it myself! I don't think it lasted more than a couple of months or so. The medication brought on a full recovery, thankfully.
(Oh, and I'd be wary of using disinfecting wipes. I'm not sure that any of them claim to be effective against Clostridium difficileI bacteria, and I don't think they actually contain bleach, either.)
I wish you all the best!
Wearing old clothes, I washed all hard surfaces with this solution. Toilet, sinks, faucets, etc. Some floors, espec bathrooms. Laundry was done with hottest water that the material could tolerate, detergent, plus I added a cup or two of bleach per load. Enough to kill germs but not remove colors. I also opened windows (though mid winter) to ventilate, AND sprayed Lysol disinfectant on many surfaces. Do door knobs, handles, think “where hands may have been ?” You should change your gloves often so as not to contaminate any new surfaces. Thus get large box disposable gloves. (At least 50-100 count.)
If you want more specific guidelines, ask the doctor or nurses who are treating the patient. Above worked for me. Some patients continue to have Cdiff in stool, and will need to be on continued precautions. Frequent hand washing is key ! I know there are enzyme cleaners that may be even better for dissolving feces, but that wasn’t necessary in my situation. Hospitals use that. For a rug that can’t be washed (ie large or wall to wall), I’m not sure. Ask around. I’m a retired RN, and got advice from Infections Disease nurses. Best of luck to you.
https://cdifffoundation.org/cdiff-infection-homecare/
Use soap and water rather than alcohol based hand sanitizers. when washing your hands and use a towel or something similar to turn off the water faucets. Only use a towel, washcloth, cleaning cloth, etc. one time then wash them with detergent and bleach.
Stay well.
I used “Clorox Clean-up” spray (with a scrub brush) to clean all household surfaces.
I washed items on the sanitary cycle of my washing machine. This cycle uses 1/4 cup liquid bleach for a regular load.
I used rubber gloves, paper towels. I tossed anything stained - most things were fine.
We didn’t have any problems.
Above all, TRY to RELAX ! ! It is an unpleasant task indeed, but probably not as risky of self contagion as many people fear. Often people who carry C-diff in their stool live with others, and with basic general precautions it is usually not passed on to housemates. Hand washing is key. No one likes cleaning feces, espec diarrhea ! If you are highly squeamish, is there anyone else who can help you ?