So Covid is spreading like wildfire again... We scheduled electrical work to be done at our house and now I'm wondering whether to go forward. It's not necessary, nothing is broken, but at some point soon we need to replace our electrical panel and so we were going to get that done and run some outside power while at it. The work would take most of the day (5-6 hours probably) and the workers would be around the house. The utility room where they'd mostly be doesn't have windows for ventilation. They will be masked, I'm not worried about that, and my husband would be the only one home, also masked, but it's still a lot of time and they would be in some of our living spaces to run wiring and such. WWYD?
-
@Mrs. Carrot: We actually just had this done. Our house is 100 years old, so we needed to update and replace our panel. The electricians also installed some outdoor outlets for us. It took a full day, so the kids and I stayed at my parents for the night, but DH was home. I felt comfortable with the situation, and I’m happy we did it!
-
I wouldn’t be worried about them being in your living space - as long as everybody stays masked while they’re inside and more than 6 feet apart I’d be ok with it.
-
@Mrs. Carrot: We need to have some mold remediation done and water damaged drywall removed. I’m not thrilled about it but I think we’ll be ok. Going to try to be out of the house while it’s going on.
-
@Jessiemuller88: thanks, good to know. We unfortunately don't have anywhere to overnight so I'm going to find something to do with my 7 year old all day while husband supervises.
-
We've had a few different things done in our house since July. Most of them had to happen but two could have technically waited, but the benefits of having the work done seemed worth it. Only one of us stays in the house, the other takes DD somewhere else. We open as many windows as possible - even if there aren't windows in the room with them, it helps with air circulation in the whole house. Whoever is home wears a mask the whole time, we try to have any necessary conversations outside, and we clean all surfaces they touched as soon as they leave.
It stresses me out a quite a bit, if I'm being honest. But things still need to be taken care of.
-
Same as above - we had to have a big AC fix during the peak this summer. It was too hot to have the kids outside the whole time so we just stayed away from him in the house and he was masked. Also made me nervous but your precautions sound very reasonable. Old electrical panels sometimes cause fires around us (50s/60s era homes) so I’d just get it done.
-
I wouldn’t worry about this. You really need person-to-person sustained contact to spread it. As long as your husband keeps his distance, seems fine to me. Transmission via surfaces is not really a concern. Totally get why you’re nervous, though, given the current state of things!
-
I also wouldn’t worry too much. Your DH should just try to have all conversations outside or in a room with windows and make them brief. And if you can avoid the utility room for a few hours after that should be fine. As someone else said, you need sustained contact. Although the virus is technically airborne, it doesn’t linger in a space all that long.
-
I’m going to be the dissenting voice and say I wouldn’t do this. The vaccine will be here in 6 months and if nothing is broken/urgent, I wouldn’t do this during a covid surge. This week on Andy Slavitts podcast there was an air quality expert that basically said the virus stays in the air for 14 hours (95% gone at 14 hours) with standard home HVAC systems. After listening to that, I’m not having anyone in our house unless they quarantined for 2 weeks. First world problem but that means no cleaning service (of course still paying them). Luckily my 6 yo finds much joy from cleaning
-
@ChitownRo: Just because the virus stays in the air that long doesn’t mean you can easily catch it that way. This is just not how the virus is spreading. And I am being very cautious, take it very seriously and work in healthcare. I don’t believe that type of transmission is very likely. But yes, not impossible.
ETA: That being said, if I lived in a place with super high rates, I’d probably be extra cautious. So depends what you mean by a surge.
-
I would go ahead and get the work done since you already have it booked. Sounds like you have all the precautions in place.
-
We had to have a contractor (who is a family friend) come over the summer to replace the door on my daughters’ room. My older daughter needed to move from the crib to a bed so my youngest could use the crib, and the previous owner had a deadbolt on the door?!?!?! So, obvious safety issue. Neither DH or I are capable of replacing a door, so it had to get done. I opened all of the windows, he wore a mask the entire time, and I bleached all of the surfaces he touched. Not perfect, and no guarantees. With the numbers in our area now, I would probably be hesitant to have non essential work done, but not sure.
-
@ChitownRo: Do you really think the vaccine will be here (and I guess more specifically widely available) in six months? I would love to believe that but from what I’ve read it seems like it’s going to be more like a year.
-
@erinbaderin: I guess I’m taking Pfizer at their word about 1b doses available by spring with initial 20mm December/January. But I’ve just decided that this is a light at the end of the tunnel, even for my own sanity
@JJ2626: I’m also in health care, or well was until 2 months ago and now am SAHM given the cluster that is childcare and schooling this year. I think most of the country is surging right now but IL consistently has >10% test positivity rate, rising hospitalizations etc
-
We are going to have some flooring replaced this week. The plan is to keep the kids outside and the windows open. So far all of the professionals that were here have been good with masks, distancing, etc. I don’t think it is cause for concern. I just spray down door handles or whatever was touched. Your plan sounds good and I would go ahead with it.
-
I would also say that I wouldn't do it unless it's really necessary, but I'm in Illinois and our rates are super high right now. My concern would be the lack of ventilation where they are working and that at some point I'd want to go in the utility room to check on things and get an explanation of the work. I've also had the experience of people wearing masks inappropriately in close quarters, not just under their nose, but pulling them away from their mouths to talk or just wearing them very loosely.
-
We had a leaking pipe that needed to be replaced (could not wait) in our laundry room. I worked on another floor of the house and wore a mask while around the plumbers and kept windows open for ventilation. I consider it a minimal risk.
-
@Chuckles: I'm in VA so we're not as bad but still, bad. I'm leaning toward just getting it over with, because there doesn't seem like much of a light at the end of the tunnel on Covid, but it's definitely giving me a ton of anxiety,
-
I'm actually writing this as I have contractors in my house. They're finishing up some work for us in a room that they converted from a 3 season room to a 4 season room. There is a door that closes it off from the rest of the house so there is barely any contact. I'm in IL where cases are rising but we're being cautious so I'm not worried about it.
-
@Bluemasonjar: Plumber coming today to deal with a leaking laundry room pipe too - ugh! But yes, I echo many others that with good precautions this seems fairly low risk.
And maybe it’s just me making myself feel better but now, before Thanksgiving and Christmas, seems like lower risk timing vs. after people possibly attend family gatherings or events. -
@ChitownRo: I listened to the podcast and he said wait 3-4 hours before entering if it’s not well ventilated. Not to dwell on this, but I think it’s important we are realistic about risk while obviously being cautious. All that to say, I stand by saying I wouldn’t want to go in the utility room for a few hours. Otherwise, as long as DH wears a mask and keeps interactions very brief it seems low risk to me. If the workers are going to be all over the house and it’s impossible to stay away, I’d assess it differently.
-
@JJ2626: Thanks! DH is definitely really good about keeping distance and we figured out that our garage window opens so we're planning to keep those doors open to create a breeze hopefully between the garage and kitchen windows (utility room is in between the two). It's still making me a little twitchy but I am definitely of the mind that I don't think Covid is going anywhere soon so I think we need to bite the bullet on this and just get it over with. Everyone's perspectives really helped, thank you!
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
22 comments