Wooden Furniture & Coronavirus – What to Do During Such a Challenging Time?

Coronavirus disease or COVID-19 is all over the news. The lethal disease is spreading quickly and is declared a Pandemic by the World Health Organization. According to researches, this deadly virus can survive outside the human body for quite a few days. It can stay alive on materials like wood, paper, plastic and glass for approximately 4-5 days.

What exactly is Coronavirus?

Coronavirus disease of COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a recently discovered virus. The transmission of this virus happens from person to person through the droplets of cough or sneeze. It can also be transmitted when a person touches the surface with the virus on it and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth. No proper treatment or vaccine for this disease has been discovered yet. Some of the most common symptoms include fever, cough, tiredness and in severe cases, one might even face difficulty in breathing.

Wooden Furniture – How is it Related to Corona?

Today, the best way to slow down the spread of coronavirus is by washing hands with soap and warm water. In addition to this, it is also important to keep your surroundings clean and sanitized.

A study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection reported that this virus can last for two days on steel, approx. four days on wood and glass objects and five days on metal, plastic and ceramics when the temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to Fight Coronavirus on our Wooden Furniture?

Bleach can damage wooden surfaces and no one wants their furniture to get hurt. The best option is to use alcohol. If you find ethanol which is used to disinfect surfaces, then that is your best option. But remember a higher concentration of alcohol can have adverse effects. The alcohol denatures the cell membrane proteins and reduces the penetration of alcohol into the cell. Now, a virus that gets exposed to 96% alcohol will denature its surface and become impermeable to alcohol. This would cause the proteins inside the cell to become alive which would allow the cell to repair itself. When the concentration of alcohol is 70%, there is a good chance of ethanol penetrating into the cell. The best concentration of alcohol, therefore, is 70%. Ethanol has 96% alcohol which would not kill the virus membrane and hence the need of the hour is to dilute it. The best ratio can be 7:3. Seven portions of ethanol alcohol can be diluted in three portions of water.

Avoid using industrial alcohol at all costs. This alcohol, also known as methanol, can neither disinfect and clean the viruses nor it is safe for humans.

You can disinfect your wooden furniture in three simple steps.

Step 1

The first step is to make a disinfectant solution. You can take 3.5 cups ethanol and 1.5 cups water in a spray bottle. If your wood is soiled, we suggest adding a few drops preferably five drops of dish soap solution.

Step 2

The next step is to spray this solution on all your wooden furniture and leave it to dry. You can then wipe off the wooden surface with a damp cleaning rag to remove the watermark of the soap.

Step 3

The last step is drying. You can wipe your furniture with a dry clean cloth and remove all the excess moisture.

Marcelle’s Carpentry & Building is a comprehensive carpentry business that provides the best wooden repair and building services in Melbourne. We understand wood and we are together with you in these challenging situations. If you are having any problems with the wooden elements at your home, connect with us today.