Whether this is your first child or you have an entire brood, babies make home cleaning a challenge. In this blog, we will share some essential tips on maintaining a clean home with babies.
Why is a clean home important for babies?
A clean home reduces the germs and bacteria in your home that can make your baby sick. Germs spread easily when sick family members touch their faces and then the surfaces in your home. Other risks include:
- Small children forgetting to wash their hands after using the bathroom or blowing their nose.
- Foodborne bacteria that can lead to serious illness such as salmonella or E. coli.
- Pets.
- Poor air quality.
By ensuring the surfaces in your home are clean and safely disinfected, you can kill germs and bacteria. Tasks such as vacuuming and dusting help improve air quality to reduce the risk of respiratory issues.
Start With Handwashing for a Clean, Germ-Free Home
While washing your hands isn’t cleaning your home, it does help reduce germs. Keeping hand sanitizer handy at key areas where you cook, change your baby, or use the bathroom can go a long way in keeping frequently touched surfaces germ-free including faucets, door knobs, light switches, the fridge handle, etc.
Use Safe Cleaning Baby Products for a Clean Home
You want to maintain a clean home, but not at the expense of your baby’s health. Choosing baby-safe products will ensure your home is free of harmful toxins and chemicals. Some tips for safe cleaning baby products include:
- Eco-friendly cleaners
- Fragrance-free cleaners
- Certified cleaning products
- Natural DIY cleansers
- Avoid products containing harsh chemicals
Keep a Clean Home With Regular Home Sanitation
You might consider hiring a cleaning company to perform regular home sanitation, especially following a bout of illness in the household. For example, our home-sanitation service, GermBlasters uses an EPA and Health Canada-registered hospital disinfectant designed to be gentle to users, but effectively kill germs and bacteria.
The NSF-certified solution is ideal for households with babies as it is:
- Non-irritating to the skin
- Does not require rinsing
- Food-safe
Don’t Just Clean, Disinfect
Frequently touched surfaces must be disinfected. Typical cleaning products are designed to clean, but they won’t reduce the spread of germs and bacteria in your home. In fact, using basic cleansers does nothing more than move germs and bacteria around, and they can actually spread if you use the same cloth on different surfaces.
However, you need to use disinfectants properly to avoid exposure to harmful chemicals like bleach and ensure your baby doesn’t come into direct contact with toxins. The recommended steps for the disinfection process include:
- Clean the surface with soap and water.
- Disinfect the dry surface using a Health Canada-recommended disinfectant.
- Follow the steps on the label.
You can also use a 70% or higher alcohol solution or wipes to kill germs.
Wipe Down Baby Gear as Part of Home Sanitation
Baby gear is in constant contact with all kinds of germs and bacteria, as well as build-up from ick factors such as spit-up, explosive poops, or pet drool. This is one of the most important aspects of keeping a clean home with babies, as it ensures the items your baby comes into contact with every day are fresh and clean.
Babies explore through touch as part of their learning process. However, they also put their hands in their mouths and use their mouths in unexpected ways to explore, self-soothe, or ease pain from teething.
So, ensuring you’re regularly cleaning things like the liner for the baby seat, blankies, bottles, soothers, the baby seat tray, etc. will help keep your baby healthy. Some tips include the following:
- Use dishwashing liquid and warm water to wipe down or clean hard items such as toys, soothers, teething rings, etc.
- Reduce the need to wipe things down by choosing dishwasher-safe baby gear.
- Use washable cloths on the change table to prevent irritation from contact with harsh disinfectants.
Be Extra Diligent With the Change Table
Clean the change table after each diaper change to remove germs and bacteria. This is tricky because you want to kill the germs, but avoid irritating your baby’s sensitive skin. Change table cleaning is especially important if your baby is sick, or you have more than one child in diapers.
A good rule of thumb is to use a baby wipe to remove visible messes and then finish up with a disinfectant wipe. Be sure to wipe your baby’s hands with a baby wipe after you finish changing them.
It’s also nice to use a cozy fabric cover that can be replaced after each diaper change to reduce contact with harsh cleansers. Wash these cloths (and other similar baby products) after use.
Use a HEPA Filter Vacuum and Microfibre Cloths
HEPA filters are designed to capture tiny particulates and improve indoor air quality. Using a HEPA filter vacuum will help reduce allergens and germs that your baby and other family members breathe in.
Microfiber cloths are also effective at trapping particulates. Dusting at least once a week will help keep the air in your home allergen and irritant-free.
Remove Bacteria After Food Prep for a Clean Home
We hate to keep mentioning germs and bacteria, but while it’s okay if your house is a little messy with a baby, it should be kept germ and bacteria-free. Be sure to wipe down counters with kitchen-friendly wipes, especially after working with raw meat.
Watch for spills so you can wipe them before they get crusty and take more effort to clean.
Clean as You Go
Working parents can help keep things under control by cleaning as they go. Some tips include the following:
- Teach older kids to pitch in by putting their toys away.
- Put wipes in the bathroom, by the change table, and on the kitchen counter so you can wipe up messes after use.
- Use baskets and hooks to organize baby and family gear at the entry.
- Throw in a load of laundry or sweep the kitchen floor when the baby is napping.
- Have a designated time to tackle the dishes based on your baby’s schedule.
- Hire recurring cleaning services to keep things presentable.
Contact the Cleaning Professionals
While it’s almost impossible to keep your home always neat and tidy with a baby, switching your focus to cleanliness and home sanitation will help ensure the most important tasks are handled well!
If a clean home seems impossible to achieve with a baby, Maid4Condos can help. Click here to learn more about our cleaning services or to get a free online quote. You can also call us at 647-822-0601 or contact us online.
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