Viruses can be spread many ways: through the air, by touch, even inorganic surfaces, such as desks, toilet seats and hats. How to avoid them? The strategy for preventing most infectious illnesses is chiefly common sense, say experts, yet many of us neglect to take the simple precautions that could reduce the number of infectious diseases that we or our family members catch every year.

The most important activity we can do to reduce the transmission of disease is to wash our hands more often.

All of us carry germs from surfaces we touch to our faces or our children's faces, where they can find easy ways to enter our bodies.

Washing your hands, particularly before you eat, can reduce changes of infection by up to 80 percent. And more importantly, teach your children to wash their hands more often. And teach them how to wash thoroughly, with scrubbing and lots of soap on both the hands and the wrists.

If you have a young child, a dishwasher can be a great timesaver. Use it often on its hottest setting and wash your baby's pacifiers, toys, teething rings, nipples, bottles — anything hard that goes in his mouth. If you don't have a dishwasher, use the hottest water available from the tap.

Steam it!

One step better than hot water is steam. Steam is an effective way to disinfect surfaces as well as clothing.

It has been demonstrated that virus particles are stable and remain infectious for several hours at room temperature on fabrics and other soft materials. Hospitals and laboratories for years have used steam sterilization equipment because steam destroys most resistant bacterial spores even with brief exposure.

Changing towels, bedsheets and pillow cases frequently is a smart habit, as is washing all clothes after they've been worn outside the home.

Steam's effectiveness on the H1N1 virus is still untested but it is well-known that very few microorganisms can survive at the temperature at which water transforms into steam.

"Our research has shown that molecules of steam are smaller, hotter and more active than water molecules," said Mr Young-Soo Kim, Vice President of research and development for LG Home Appliances. "What's more, steam disinfects without the use of chemicals so it's also a 'green' solution."

Be aware of others

Follow proper etiquette when coughing and sneezing. Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough and teach your children to do the same. Carry packets of tissue wherever you go and have plenty on hand for your children as well.

Even better, wear a surgical face mask if it's acceptable. While the debate is still out on their effectiveness, some have taken the position that if they're good enough for doctors, they're good enough for us.

Practice good 'proximity management' and limit the amount of time you are exposed to groups of people. Crowds are the best source of infectious organisms, whether it's germs, bacteria or viruses. Isolation and avoidance reduce your chances of getting infected or infecting others.

If you need to go someplace crowded, the Centre for Disease Control recommends spending as little time as possible there and maintaining a minimum distance of two metres between you and potentially infected people.

Following these common sense tips and habits may not make you immune to today's mutated super viruses but they will go a long way in reducing the frequency of colds and flu this season.