This post is Sponsored by Lysol but my opinions are 100% my own!

It’s cold and flu season and Lysol wants to know if you are doing everything you can to stay healthy heading into February, the peak month for illness. Most families think they can fight off infection with hand washing, cleaning commonly touched surfaces and flu shots – all of which is great, but based on the data below, the question is are they truly aware of – and doing – all the things they can to be healthy and safe?

• Cleaning and disinfecting aren’t one in the same: cleaning only removes germs from surfaces, whereas disinfecting actually destroys them. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) The flu virus can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours, so it’s important to disinfect regularly.

• Talk about another reason to disinfect those surfaces regularly: children can touch and retouch more than 300 surfaces in just 30 minutes. Imagine how much you could protect them – and prevent them from spreading germs – by switching from cleaning to disinfecting! (CDC)

• Frequent hand washing is a key way to preventing cold and flu. However, one study found that the majority of respondents (53%) only wash their hands for 10 seconds or less after using the toilet when the optimal time for washing is 20 seconds. (Global  Hygiene Council)

How is your family stacking up when it comes to cold & flu prevention?   I’m really big on hand washing in our house, especially before and after the kids eat.  I know they don’t like it when I remind them but I’d say we seem to be able to avoid a lot of what goes around school sometimes.  Now when we are out in public at places where they kids are touching everything, then I make them not only wash their hands, but also use hand sanitizer before we eat.  My husband laughs at me but it’s very important to me.  Besides, I’m the one taking care of them when they are sick!

Lysol sent me the items pictured above and we’ve been using the soap from the first day it arrived and everyday, after dinner I wipe down the counters with Lysol wipes to make sure they are clean.  Especially after cooking.  I also plan on using the wipes on door handles once a week, at least!  I want to keep as many germs out of my house as I can!

Disclosure: I received a Free product for review. My opinions are 100% mine.