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The Importance of Sanitizing in Homes With Kids and Pets

The Importance of Sanitizing in Homes With Kids and Pets
October 4, 2024

Although we view our pets as members of the family, our four-legged pals (and two-legged if you have birds) carry diseases and germs that can make family members sick. In fact, your home might have germs and bacteria that can make your pets sick, too!

With this in mind, if you have children and pets, it’s important to sanitize your home to help keep everyone healthy. In this blog, our Toronto house cleaning services professionals will explain why and how to sanitize.

The importance of sanitizing in homes with kids and pets

Why Cleaning Isn’t Sanitizing

First, we think you should understand that cleaning isn’t the same as sanitizing. When you clean your home, you’re removing dirt and germs from surfaces, but the typical cleaning products used don’t kill germs—and that’s the difference. 

Sanitization uses special ingredients that kill germs, which is why it is better in homes with pets and kids.

Why is sanitizing important?

As mentioned, sanitizing kills germs that can cause illness. When you sanitize surfaces in your home, you reduce the risk of pets and people spreading germs and getting sick.

Although we love to get kisses from our furry friends, we hate to remind you what your pets use their mouths to clean. We’ll let that sink in while we continue to explain more about sanitizing!

Pet Pee and Poo

Unfortunately, your four-legged chums carry traces of poop and pee in their fur and on their mouths and paws, which have bacteria and diseases that can make you sick.

A good way to look at it is considering how we’re all taught to wash our hands after using the bathroom to avoid illnesses related to human pee and poo. Since pets can’t follow suit, we need to be careful and call our Toronto house cleaning services to remove the germs they are spreading around the home.

Pet Diseases

Your pets can carry germs that might or might not make them sick. Whether they are showing symptoms or just carrying the disease isn’t important. What is important is that they can spread the illness to those with compromised immune systems, children under 5, adults over 65, and very young or older pets.

What types of pets can make you sick?

Although cats and dogs can make us ill, you’re actually more likely to get sick from pet rodents, reptiles, or amphibians. These animals tend to carry germs that are more likely to transfer into illness to family members, especially if you aren’t disinfecting their bowls, water dispensers, and cages.

The risks are even higher if you touch these items and don’t wash your hands! However, this also includes picking up dog poop and dealing with kitty litter. So, regardless of pet type, whenever you’re touching anything with the potential to have poop or pee traces, always do so carefully and wash your hands.

How to Clean and Sanitize Pet Items

Here are a few tips to clean and sanitize pet items:

Where to Clean Pet Items

Although you can use your kitchen sink to wash dog and cat bowls, you can be extra safe and wash all hard items for pets somewhere else, like your laundry sink or even your bathtub. However, regardless of where you clean these items, it’s important to sanitize the area directly afterwards.

If you wash these items in the kitchen sink, you greatly increase the risk of germs getting into your food. So, if this is the only place you can clean items, thoroughly wipe down all surfaces using a 99.9% germ-killing, kitchen-safe cleaning product. Another option is to use a wash tub reserved for cleaning pet items. 

How to Clean Pet Items

Choose a disinfectant cleanser that kills germs and follow the directions carefully. In many cases, you’ll need to clean the items first to remove dirt, as germs can cling to dirty surfaces. By cleaning the items first, you allow the disinfectant cleaners to reach the germs and safely kill them.

Be sure to keep the items out of sight of your pets until they are properly cleaned and rinsed, as the cleaners are toxic when still wet and will make your pets sick. 

Use the Dishwasher

If you have a dishwasher, it’s safe to clean pet items like bowls and rubber/plastic toys using the highest setting. The heat will kill the germs and not impact your own dishes in the next cycle. Just make sure these items are labelled as dishwasher-safe. 

Use the Laundry Machine

You can also safely use your laundry machine to wash soft items for pets, such as plush toys, leashes, blankets, etc., especially if you have a sanitize setting. 

Use Bleach or Disinfectant Wipes/Sprays

For the best results, you can use either bleach or disinfectants as follows:

  • Bleach: Wash the items first with soapy water and then soak them for 10 minutes in a mixture of ¼ cups of bleach to a gallon of water. Rinse thoroughly and then let them air dry.
  • Disinfectant: Follow the directions on the label and be extra safe to ensure you a) leave the disinfectant on long enough to kill the germs and b) thoroughly rinse it off before allowing your pets to use it. 

How Often to Clean

Our Toronto house cleaning services do things the easy way, which is to clean pet items as often as we clean human items! So, for example, you should be washing your dishes every day, and you should also be washing your pet’s water bowls and dishes every day.

It just makes it easier to remember. However, if you’re busy, wet food bowls need daily cleaning, while dry food bowls and water dishes can be cleaned every second day.

Pet “laundry” can also follow your own weekly schedule, while hard pet toys would be along the lines of your kid’s toys, which should be cleaned at least monthly. If your pet or anyone in the home is sick, washing more often is highly advised. Of course, if it looks gross or smells bad, wash it right away, or consider throwing it out!

How Often to Sanitize

For sanitizing, anything that is in contact with poop or pee should be sanitized once a week and daily if you live with small children or elderly adults in the household. Daily is also best if your pet or someone in the family is sick. 

Pet-Specific Warnings

Different animals respond differently to various chemicals, so, in some cases, extra precautions are necessary. Follow these tips based on pet type:

  • Cats: Never use cleaning products with any form of phenol on the label, as this chemical is highly toxic to cats. Also, it’s best to clean your cat’s litter box daily before parasites can form.
  • Birds: Birds are very sensitive to the fumes from disinfectants, so always use disinfectants outside to avoid impacting their sensitive respiratory systems.

Contact the Cleaning and Sanitizing Experts

So, there you have it. While we love our pets, we need to keep them and our family members safe through regular cleaning and sanitizing.


If you’re too busy to be sanitizing once a week, Maid4Condos’ Toronto house cleaning services are here to help. Click here for a free online quote. You can also call us at 647-822-0601 or contact us online.

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