Did you know that as an apartment complex dweller you’re exposed to a greater risk of COVID-19 infection? This is due to your building’s close-quarter living conditions. But don’t worry, if you read until the end I can assure you’ll be safer than those who aren’t. Because in this article, we’ll be revealing 10 essential safety tips while living in an apartment complex. 

1. Skip residential events and gatherings

Outdoor social gatherings may be banned but indoor gatherings should be restricted as well. If there’s a get-together invitation by your building’s management or neighbors, you can politely decline. Stay in your unit and don’t go out even if it’s for a round of drinks. You can still socialize through video-calling platforms.

2. Pay your rent online

Ask your landlord if there’s any way you can pay your rent online. Suggest a wire transfer or use PayPal. If they’re not familiar with that, put your payment in an envelope and slide it under your closed door. The same goes for receiving your receipt.

3. Avoid high traffic areas

Even without gatherings, areas where your neighbors frequently go are still at high risk of contamination. Remember that the SARS-CoV-2 can survive on surfaces from hours to days. Stay away from lounges, lobbies, or any common areas. For moving in and out of the complex, take the road less traveled if possible.

4. Temporarily ban visitors

Social distancing just doesn’t apply to you and strangers. Distancing from your friends and family is imperative as well. But that doesn’t mean to totally shut them out of your life. Simply offer video chat, text, or call and that will suffice. You’ll never know who’s asymptomatically infected or not.

5. Take the stairs instead of elevators

Elevators are one of the high traffic areas you should avoid. It is also a closed space which makes the virus easy to jump from one asymptomatic host to another. Taking the stairs might be a tiring endeavor but it is a good exercise and safe as long as you keep your hands off the railings.

6. Have your food and groceries delivered

Eating outside or doing groceries adds to the risk of COVID-19 infection. Why not install GrubHub or UberEats on your phone for food orders? For your groceries, you can use Walmart Grocery as an example. If you want to pick-up your groceries, Safeway Delivery and Pickup is a good option.

7. Regularly clean and disinfect your apartment

Don’t get complacent just because there are no visitors allowed in your home. You’ll leave your apartment from time to time and you might carry pathogens from the outdoors when you return. Do your laundry, change the foot rug, clean and disinfect your tables especially your couch.

8. Work remotely

If you’re still employed, be thankful for that. But if your company mandates you to report to the office daily, it’s best to request working remotely. Don’t have a job? Surf the web for remote working sites. I’m sure you’ll find a lot of work as there are my sites with a wide array of job descriptions.

9. Exercise caution when handling garbage

Always wear protective gloves when throwing out the trash. Pathogens are very likely to survive in decaying organic matter. Cover your face when opening trash bins as the garbage fumes can carry diseases. If you don’t have gloves, then use a rod-like object when opening bins or transporting trash bags. Not available? Bring a bottle of hand sanitizer or alcohol with you. Don’t touch your face until you get home and wash your hands with soap.

10. Don’t forget the preventative basics

Remember to bathe daily. Drink your vitamins especially Vitamin C. Avoid physical and close-proximity contact with other people. If you’re from the outdoors, change your clothes immediately for cleaner ones. This way, you can avoid contaminating your apartment from outdoor pollutants and pathogens. 

Out of all living conditions, close-spaced living such as high-rise condos and apartment complexes are the riskiest places to be in during a pandemic. That is why you have to exercise extreme caution when going in and out of your unit. We hope you learned from this article!

If you’re ready, make Landlord Prep your go-to resource for landlording education. Here, we offer a complete DIY landlording course to get you on the right track. Join our academy today. If you want, you can check out Flavia’s real estate investing webinar first!