Press Release

Community urged to join "Household Cleaning Day"

March 29, 2003

The Department of Health (DH) urges every member of the community to join efforts in the "Household Cleaning Day" tomorrow (March 30) in containing the spread of atypical pneumonia.

"Maintaining good personal and environmental hygiene is of utmost importance in the prevention of atypical pneumonia. As a precautionary measure, DH has designated tomorrow as the "Household Cleaning Day" and called on the general public to clean their own households and join hands with the Government to prevent the disease," a DH spokesman said.

Members of the public are urged to observe the following guidelines in household cleaning:

(1)	Have all cleaning equipment ready, including household bleach, a bucket, cleaning cloths, a mop, masks, gloves etc;
(2)	Wear gloves and masks before starting your clean-up job;
(3)	Prepare a solution of diluted household bleach by mixing one part of bleach with 99 parts of water;
(4)	Proceed your clean-up as follows: For washable items, e.g. beddings, linen, dust-filters of air-conditioner filter, floor mats, soak them in the diluted household bleach solution for 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with tap water; For non-washable items, e.g. telephones, door knobs, furniture, wipe with the diluted household bleach solution using a cloth, then rinse with water and wipe dry; For all floor and walls, mop with the diluted household bleach solution, rinse with water and mop dry; It is also important to put rubbish into rubbish bin and keep the bin covered at all times.
(5)	Wash hands after the clean-up. Use liquid soap for hand washing and disposable towel for drying hands;
(6)	Keep good indoor ventilation at all times.

The spokesman added: "If the surface or an object is contaminated with respiratory secretions and vomitus, wash/wipe with a stronger disinfectant prepared by adding 1 part of bleach to 49 parts of water immediately, then rinse with clean water, and wipe dry."

"Make household cleaning a regular habit. Wipe the furniture with the diluted household bleach solution daily. Change bedding and clothing regularly," he said.

Members of the public who wish to get further information on the prevention of atypical pneumonia, please call the pre-recorded health education hotline at 2833 0111 or visit the Department of Health's website at This link will open in a new windowhttp://www.info.gov.hk/dh. A special hotline on the prevention of atypical pneumonia, 2961 8968, will be manned between 9 and 5 am from Monday to Friday, and from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday.