How to Disinfect Your House During Cold & Flu Season - Guides & Tips

When someone at home gets sick, the surfaces everyone touches matter more than usual. Cold and flu germs, including influenza, can linger on hard surfaces, while bedding, laundry and shared spaces each call for a different approach to cleaning and disinfecting. This hub brings together practical cold and flu cleaning tips for prevention, protection and safety, including what to do after flu or during sickness season, so you can keep your house clean and help keep germs out of your home.

Youtube Channel Kitchen CleaningInstagram black logo
Mother cleaning up living room coffee table and disinfecting while sick child sits on couch bundled up with blanket and used tissues on ground

Cold & Flu Cleaning Tips

  • blue icon of a door handle with sparkles

    Focus on high-touch surfaces first, like doorknobs, light switches, remotes, phones and faucet handles.

  • blue icon of mop in motion with sparkles

    Clean visible dirt before disinfecting, since disinfectants work best on an already clean surface.

  • blue icon of timer clock in motion with sparkles

    Let the surface stay visibly wet for the full contact time on the label, then let it air dry.

  • icon of a blue washing machine

    Wash bedding, towels and pajamas on the warmest setting the fabric allows once someone starts feeling better.

  • Blue icon of a hand, checkmark and sparkles

    Match the method to the surface: disinfect hard, nonporous surfaces and sanitize soft ones as the label directs.

Featured Topic

How Long Do Cold and Flu Germs Live on Surfaces?

Discover how long cold, flu and stomach flu germs can survive on the surfaces you touch every day, and what that means for when and where to disinfect during cold and flu season.

Learn More
Hand reaching for light switch and finger placed on top of switch

Cold & Flu Cleaning Tips

Cold & Flu Basics

Disinfecting After Illness

Bedding, Laundry & Soft Surfaces

Kids, School & Shared Spaces

Cold & Flu Disinfectants and Cleaning Products

Frequently Asked Questions

Stay home until your symptoms are improving and you've been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine. Learn more about when to go back to school or work after the flu.

Cold and flu viruses can survive on surfaces for hours to days, depending on the surface and conditions. Learn more about how long cold and flu germs live on surfaces.

You're unlikely to immediately reinfect yourself with the same cold virus, but you can catch a different virus that causes similar symptoms. Proactive cleaning and disinfecting can reduce chances of getting reinfected.

Cold and flu season typically begins in the fall, peaks during winter and can continue into spring.

Start by cleaning surfaces with soap and water. To kill flu viruses, use an EPA-registered disinfectant as directed on frequently touched surfaces.

A disinfectant labeled to kill influenza viruses can help eliminate flu virus on hard, nonporous surfaces. Clorox™ Disinfecting All Purpose Cleaner Spray can clean and disinfect when used as directed on the label.