It’s more important than ever to slow the spread of COVID-19. To keep germs at bay, we should limit the number of surfaces we touch, and the amount of people we interact with.
Smart home automation, including voice command and IoT devices controlled through smartphone apps, helps you avoid manually operating devices and getting your hands dirty. Smartphone apps give you control of your lights, locks, and alarm system, all through your phone. With voice command, you can control all the same devices without ever lifting a finger.
In addition to limiting the number of devices you touch, disinfect the surface areas in your home as often as possible with cleaning sprays that contain at least 70% alcohol. Wipe down counters, disinfect doors, and keep light switches clean to stave off the spread of COVID-19.
1. Use a Hands-Free Faucet
No matter how many people live in your home, kitchens are a breeding ground for germs. If you buy an apple from the grocery store, for instance, and you wash it off in your kitchen sink, you’ll likely transfer the germs from the apple to your hand to the faucet knobs.
Even if you properly wash your hands once, germs from touching the faucet will stay around until the next time you have to use the faucet. Hands-free faucets let you wash your hands—and anything else—without contaminating the faucet itself.
2. Lock Your Home From Your Phone (Or Your Voice)
Doors are also a hotspot for germs since both people in your immediate household and outside your household touch them. Plus, if people deliver packages or food, that spreads germs too. Better yet, you dodge the need to have other people touch the door, as well.
Anytime you need to lock or unlock your doors, use your smartphone app. Plus, if you pair your smart locks with a smart hub device, you can control the door via voice command, making it so you don’t even need to pull out your phone.
3. Control Lights With One Touch
Smart lights used to be primarily for convenience purposes or to save energy—but now they keep you safer too. Whether you live with roommates, family members, or alone, your light switches are touched often.
Avoid the need to use a light switch at all, and lean into smart lights, which you can control from your phone or via voice command. Flu viruses can live on surfaces for up to two days, so the more you limit how often you touch everyday surfaces, the more you’ll slow down the spread of germs.
4. Keep your Home Cozy—Without Dirtying Your Hands
Now that you’re staying in more than you’re going out, you likely use your thermostat more than you have before. Before quarantine, it might not have mattered to you how warm or cold your home was during the day, but now that you’re home during the day, it makes all the difference.
If multiple people live in your house, avoid making your thermostat another device everyone touches frequently. With Vivint Element Thermostat or Google Nest Thermostat, you can monitor everything from a safe distance, and still keep your crib comfortable.
5. Keep Your Daily Schedule but Control it From Your Phone
Quarantine won’t change the fact that you still need your morning cup of Joe. It also won’t change the fact that you constantly use your microwave and refrigerator.
Don’t stop using daily appliances you depend on out of fear of spreading germs—play it smart instead. Schedule your smart coffee maker to brew your coffee for you, so all you have to touch is the coffee pot handle. Instead of pressing multiple buttons on your microwave’s panel, set your cook time using your voice; that way all you have to touch is the microwave’s door handle.
With smart IoT appliances, you can brew your coffee, charge your phone, play a song on your speaker, toast bread, or water your lawn without touching multiple surface areas. IoT smart appliances are convenient, safe, and they don’t interrupt your household routine.
Stay Safe—Play it Smart
Thanks to smart home automation, we can limit the number of surfaces we touch on a daily basis—without disrupting our day-to-day flow. Plus, if your smart devices are compatible with voice command technology, you won’t need to touch any surfaces whatsoever.
Do what you can to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic: wash your hands frequently, disinfect your home often, social distance, and take safety measures you wouldn’t normally have before. Wash your fruit, disinfect items you pick up from the grocery store, wipe down any packages you receive, and wear a mask or face covering when you’re out in public.
Smart automation, coupled with common sense safety habits, will bring us one step closer to flattening the curve.
