To understand how to defeat the enemy, you must first know what you’re fighting. My mom always called it the “stomach flu,” but it’s not related to the flu at all — influenza is a respiratory virus that can put people in the hospital, but it does not make you vomit. A more appropriate general term for what you’re facing is gastroenteritis.
So how do you get it? What commonly happens is that you eat something a sick person has touched, or you touch a contaminated surface and then put your fingers in your mouth (this is an easy way for the virus to spread at school and in daycares, because we all know how much little ones like to put their blasted hands in their mouths). You can also get it from eating oysters, so make sure they've been steamed well if you like them.
There are only two ways to kill norovirus: with heat and bleach. (Update, January 2014: Lysol III says on the back of the can that it will kill norovirus after five minutes. But you must read the label and make sure you bought the right kind. And if you’re as overzealous as I am, you’ll use the lysol and bleach, too.)
Get an empty spray bottle and mix up a 10:1 bleach solution (I do 5:1, but I’m, you know, a little paranoid) and spray down sinks, toilets, floors, and everything else you can think of — but not the sofa -- don’t get overzealous and wreck your upholstery.
Carefully transfer any laundry that may have come into contact with vomit or poop to the washer, trying not to shake it too much and wash it in the hottest water you can on the longest cycle your machine has. Dry it on the highest heat the fabric will take.
On a day-to-day basis, wash your hands really well after using the restroom and before every meal. Teach your children to do the same, and start in on them at a young age about keeping their hands out of their mouths.
Once it’s in your house, step up the hand-washing. Sing the whole ABC song every time, and rinse them with the hottest water you can stand. Just keep some Cetaphil cream on hand for the cracking that will come if you do it right.
Keep a box of disposable gloves: wear them every time you touch anything that even might be contaminated, and toss them in a trash sack when you’re done.
A roll of paper towels: regular hand towels leave the premises while the stomach bug is around. Use the paper towels to dry hands and wipe down surfaces, then put them in a handy plastic grocery bag for disposal.
Don't forget to wipe down the doorknobs, or anything the patient may have touched. Dishes right into dishwasher or use disposable plates ETC.
Be well.
Kitt