SIMPLE MAKEOVERS TO CONVERT YOUR HOME INTO A FORTRESS TO FIGHT CORONA

The year 2020 has commenced with very tough times, and this ongoing battle with COVID-19 has taught us the importance of health and hygiene, in a very harsh way. Every measure, i.e., from border control to social distancing recommendations and even personal hygiene and cleanliness of your surroundings will help to prevent its spread. All around the Globe, homes have proven to be the best weapon and our only shield against this highly contagious virus, and thus we ought to take good care and prepare our homes for the worst. We need a mini makeover for our homes to be lockdown ready and corona proof. The requirement for modern housing, luxurious housing, lifestyle amenities, etc. will all take backstage and the new demand will be for “Hygiene Friendly Homes”. After thorough market research and multiple discussions with the Top Real Estate Consultants of Indore and also with Architects and Engineers, we have combined the best suggestions for modifying your homes in Indore so that you are Corona proof.

Changes that ensure home and everyday life hygiene:

We all personally are forced to realize how important it is to make some significant amount of changes in our day to day hygiene habits. Public hygiene and personal hygiene are not just our first defense against COVID-19 today, but against other breakouts that we cannot foresee in the future. So, how do we ensure hygiene in our homes and everyday life?

1. Disinfection Station: Set up a Disinfection station preferably outside the home or on your porch. Install an outdoor washbasin to wash your hands and tap to wash your feet, rinse your clothes, masks, hand gloves, shoes, etc. You can also use it to disinfect goods, packaged food, and wash vegetables that you have purchased from outside.
2. Hands-free door openers: COVID-19 can spread when someone touches an infected surface and then touches their mouth, nose, or eyes, without washing or sanitizing their hands first. The knobs and handles of your doors are likely to get contaminated and the virus may remain viable on the surface for hours to days, depending on the material. Thus to prevent the risk of getting infected you must install hands-free door openers on your doors. Such door openers are available in a variety of choices, and you can install them and then open the door by just using your elbow or foot.
3. Bathroom cum changing room: Additionally a bathroom on the porch can provide significant prevention and safety from any infection to your family members. Having installed this you can directly get cleaned up before entering the house and replace your clothes with fresh ones, also, then and there the used clothes can be directly dumped into a bucket of soap solution, thus avoiding any chance of virus entering your home through your used clothes.
4. Create a collection box or basic storage and hangers: Wall shelves, hooks, racks should be installed to collect milk, newspapers, online store deliveries, etc. without getting near to the gate and picking them up directly after sanitizing the same. Such stands can be made as collection boxes, where, at the gate, the front side of it has access only to drop the box or packet, and the rear side has the access to disinfect the material first and then pull it out only when it is safe to touch.
5. Isolation room: Preparedness is better than response, so in a condition when one of your family members is sick, you should have a separate room with an attached bathroom and proper ventilation to accommodate the member and thus stop the spread of the virus to the other family members.
6. Revamp HVAC systems: Due to its ability for airborne transmission, the disease has its implications on HVAC systems. The homes with such centrally controlled systems need a revamp in design as there is a requirement for an increased level of ventilation for fresh air circulation and isolation from one room to the other.

Changes that ensure sustaining longer strides of Lockdown:

In the absence of a cure, improving the health of an individual, especially pulmonary (related to lungs) health, is important. In about 80% of cases, COVID-19 has only mild symptoms and for such cases, standard breathing exercises may be beneficial and individuals recover without requiring significant medical intervention. We need to exercise at home, eat at home, and grow at home; the following measures can facilitate the same:

1. Home Gym and meditation room or a grass lawn: We know that the coronavirus causes breathing difficulties, particularly if you belong to the vulnerable group and already have pre-existing respiratory ailments. So working on expanding your lung capacity might help with that. Thus, it is a basic requirement to have an area with an abundance of fresh air in your homes where you can perform breathing exercises and other necessary training routines to keep yourself and your family fit. Such places can be cast out from your terraces, and there you can have a bunch of beautiful green hedges, a terraced lawn, and a shed to keep you going even in the months of extreme heat.
2. Stockroom / Storage space: It is crucial to stock up on food and other essentials for at least two weeks. Stocking is not the same as hoarding, and it should be planned for the well being of you and your family. 14 days stocking is essential if you suspect you or someone living with you has the coronavirus, or if coronavirus cases are emerging out of your neighborhood.
3. A kitchen garden: In these difficult times we struggle to arrange sufficient vegetables from the market,  and even if we do manage to get them, we consistently face the fear of infection entering our homes. Thus, a kitchen garden with basic green veggies that are easy to grow and fulfill our daily demands must be given proper attention. Step gardening, pot gardening, vertical gardening, hydroponics, etc. are some of the methods which can be useful even for homes with space constraints. This is easy and extremely useful.
4. A medicine cabinet: You should be prepared for emergencies and common health problems by keeping a well-stocked medicine cabinet at home. A digital thermometer, Alcohol wipes, cough, and cold medicines, seasonal allergy medications, etc., a well-stocked cabinet allows you to respond quickly when illness or injury strikes. If you or anyone in your family takes long term medication courses for diseases like diabetes, BP, thyroid, etc. one to two-month extra storage to prevent supply shortage is advisable.

Changes that ensure social distancing:

A scientific study, just published in the journal Eurosurveillance (here) says, 17.9% of people with COVID-19 coronavirus had no symptoms, some studies say maybe 40% of people do not show any symptoms of COVID-19; these studies reinforce the notion that many people are walking around unaware that they are carrying the virus and potentially spreading it to others. That means even if you are feeling well, you should practice social distancing consistently and may want to adopt the following measures to encourage the same:

1. A proper place to Work from Home: This requirement can be fulfilled by creating a prefab structure on your terrace, in your groundfloor parking anywhere you may deem fit, as such structures do not require any permissions from local authorities. An appropriate place with all the essentials of an office space can be created here at your home and your undivided focus can be ensured.
2. The separate entrance gate for tenants: A majority of households live in homes where they share the premises with their tenants. You are sitting back and managing your work from home but your renter (or vice versa) may be working in some essential services where he gets into very close proximity to infected persons, in such cases your fear of getting contaminated is not mistaken. Thus, while practicing social distancing you should separate the entrance gates for tenants and provide them with all other necessary facilities to ensure home and everyday life hygiene. This helps create a healthy environment for both the families and additionally children and others at your home will have independent spaces to move around in the house without any fear of infection.

Author- Sagar Sohani

Home Constructions | Renovations | Interiors

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