The answer to smart home control in Coronavirus outbreak

Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Wear gloves… these are all common ways to help avoid the spread of COVID-19.

At home, its easy to forget about some of the other ways Coronavirus can spread when you’re among family or friends. It’s said Coronavirus may be able to survive on some surfaces for up to nine days.

Take the average light switch, as a perfect example. Without realising, a simple touch can leave a significant deposit of germs, only for someone else to touch the switch a few minutes or hours later.

A smart phone or tablet is another great example. These are the sort of devices that you handle constantly. If you’ve got yourself a smart home, there’s a good chance you have the luxury of app control of said smart home - however, its best to minimise how often you touch phones, tablets and computers to reduce the spread of germs.

Have no fear, voice control is here:

Get yourself voice control and you can avoid touching things altogether, meaning there will be fewer opportunities to exchange germs with others.

Quantify offers touch, app or voice control. In times like this, where the less you touch, the better,  you can use Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant smart speaker devices to control your smart home.

Turning lights on or off, dimming the lights, opening or closing blinds, turning on the TV or kettle… the options are limitless. Setup voice commands to enable control of all devices, blinds and lights connected to your Quantify smart home, and you’ve got yourself a more hygienic way of controlling your home.

The benefits to the aged care and disability sectors:

Voice control will also prove handy for the aged care and disability sectors, where those over 60 or those who are disabled, at a far greater risk of serious complications, or even death, if they contract COVID-19.

The Australian Government has recently introduced visitor limitations to aged care facilities to reduce the chance of transmission. They aren’t stopping families from visiting altogether, as that would cause high levels of emotional stress. Instead, facilities are allowed to determine visiting rules on a case by case basis, within reason.

Even with these tougher restrictions in place, it is just as important for every facility to maintain the highest possible level of hygiene. This is where voice control can be exceptionally effective. For the health benefit of residents and care staff, voice activation can eliminate any possible bacteria transmission associated with the touching of switches, buttons or remotes in a room.

Device cleaning is still necessary:

Voice control is great, and we encourage an increased usage of it, however, when it comes down to it, routine cleaning and disinfecting is still necessary.

Don’t just wash your hands - think about cleaning your smart phone or qDevice on the wall as well. However, you can’t use just any cleaning agent, product or technique.

According to CNET, “while you might initially see good results, harsher methods can eventually damage the screen, that you’re working so hard to protect.”

What you can use:

• Disinfectant wipes
• Lint-free soft cloths, sprayed with a non-abrasive disinfectant spray
• Lightly dampened, fresh microfiber cloth
• Screen cleaning wipes, with no chemicals that can damage screen coatings

What NOT to use:

• Abrasive, harsh window or kitchen cleaners - these can strip the protective coatings, leaving devices vulnerable to scratches
• Paper towel - this can leave debris or scratches on the device
• Alcohol
• Makeup remover

Read more about what you CAN and CANNOT use when cleaning your device, HERE.

Learn more about how you can use the Google Assistant to talk more and touch less, HERE.

Learn more about disinfecting your home in general with a few helpful hints, HERE.