All you need to use to combat Coronavirus is a 39p bleach from Tesco

“For that reason, I stick to using bleach and alcohol, as there are lots of publications proving how effective they are against viruses like Coronavirus.”So how do bleach and alcohol actually work against Coronavirus?

First up, ignore all the smart alecs telling you that alcohol-based anti-bacterial gel won’t work on a virus as it only works on bacteria, they’re wrong.

“Alcohol works against the virus by dissolving its coating — without that, it can’t function,” says Professor Bloomfield.

“Bleach generally breaks down most of the biological structures that make up the virus and so kills it very rapidly.”

Detergents and soap don’t kill microbes, they just loosen them from the surface. So to decontaminate a surface, you need to rinse it under clean running water once you’ve loosened the microbes.

Professor Bloomfield

Both alcohol and bleach can be effective in around 15 to 30 seconds, so you don’t have to leave them on for hours on end.

Careful with the cloths

Cleaning cloths and sponges can readily spread viruses from one surface to another — you don’t want to wipe it off one surface and onto other.

The IFH recommend using disposable cloths or wipes, or making sure that cloths are disinfected immediately after use using a bleach disinfectant or other disinfectant that kills viruses.

Turn up the temperature on your laundry

It goes without saying that it’s good hygiene not to share towels or facecloths anyway.

But if someone in your family has become ill, or thinks they have, make sure that their laundry is washed separately from other laundry, and at a higher temperature (at least 60ºC) to ensure viruses are inactivated.

The difference between cleaning and disinfecting

“Detergents and soap don’t kill microbes, they just loosen them from the surface,” explains Professor Bloomfield.

“So to decontaminate a surface, you need to rinse it under clean running water once you’ve loosened the microbes.”

That's why after soaping your hands, you have to rinse them under the tap. Of course that’s great if the surface is your hands, less great if it’s the TV remote.

And that’s where wiping with bleach or disinfectants come into play.

The surfaces you need to clean

It’s all about targeted hygiene, identifying the ways that any virus is most likely to spread.

“Areas like computer keyboards, TV remotes, telephones, door handles, light switches, taps, toilet seats and flush handles are the most likely culprits,” says Professor Bloomfield, because they are touched so much.

Cleaning these areas effectively will give you about 90 per cent protection.

“People are scared that dirt is where germs lurk,” she says. “But how clean your floor is won’t contribute much to protecting you from Coronavirus.”

It’s not breeding

The good news is coronavirus doesn’t breed outside the human body. 

If it’s on a surface, it’s just sitting there hoping to find a new person to infect. 

According to the government, while some research has suggested that certain types of coronaviruses can live for up to nine days, “studies of SARS and MERS suggest that, in most circumstances, the risk is likely to be reduced significantly after 72 hours.” 

Want to know more? The IFH has produced a fact sheet about how protect yourself from infection and avoid it spreading.

For more cleaning inspiration, this cleaning-mad mum revealed how coconut oil can scrub crayon off walls, get shower screens gleaming and clean ovens.

And this mum praised a £2 Wilko spray for making mattresses smell fresh and lifting stains as her daughter struggles with bed wetting.

Plus experts have revealed the simple washing mistakes that are ruining our clothes - and why you should NEVER put shoes in the wash.