Keeping your home (and hands) clean is more important than ever when cold-and-flu season hits. It’s no fun being sick or caring for a sick baby — or worst of all trying to do both at once. After all, when a cold or flu bug bites one member of your clan, it can mean all of you will be down for the count.
Head off illness (or at least send most germs moseying down the road) by practicing simple hygiene and cleaning routines. While you can't escape germs completely, it’s still smart to limit the allergens and microbes dwelling amongst you and your loved ones. Here are some helpful tips on keeping your house healthier:
Make hand washing a priority
You may have heard it a million times by now, but regular hand washing is hands-down the best way to keep germs from spreading.
Family members, visitors and even your baby herself should wash their hands (or, in the case of your baby, have them washed) thoroughly and frequently: before eating or preparing food, after using the bathroom or changing a diaper, after coming in from outside, after playing with or caring for pets, while caring for someone who is sick and so on.
Make sure soap, water and clean towels are always available. Avoid antibacterial soap, but hand sanitizers are fine for adults and older children if you don’t have access to water.
Banish foodborne illnesses
For adults and older children, a foodborne illness is unpleasant, but usually not dangerous. Not so for babies and toddlers, whose immune systems aren’t as ready to tackle tough bacteria. For everyone’s sake, keep bugs at bay with the following tips:
- Wash your hands in hot, soapy water before, during and after you prepare food. Be especially meticulous when you handle raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs.
- Stock up on cutting boards. Keep one for produce and another for proteins like meat and fish. Put them in the dishwasher after each use or scrub with hot, soapy water. And replace them when they get scarred and pitted. Bacteria love to make themselves at home in those crevices.
- Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
- Wipe surfaces (countertops, handles, doorknobs and so on) with disinfectant frequently, and wash kitchen rags, sponges and towels regularly.
- Avoid cross-contamination. Don’t place cooked foods in a dish that previously held raw foods because the bacteria from the raw meat (or veggies) can transfer onto the cooked burgers (or veggies).
Sleep cleaner
Since you spend most of the night in your bed (or hope to!), you’ll want that environment to be a healthy one. Wash sheets once a week in warm or hot water — more often if anyone’s ill, especially with intestinal troubles. Crib sheets need more frequent changing, since they’re prone to be covered with all manner of leaks, spills, dribbles and drool.
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If you have dogs or cats, get them their own cozy beds and discourage them from sharing yours (or your child’s). Their furry coats can harbor germs, allergens and even fleas — none of which make for good bedfellows for your family.
Stop germs from spreading
When cleaning surfaces, think about the places hands (little ones and big ones) tend to touch — like faucets, knobs, handles and switches — and concentrate your efforts on those areas.
In the bathroom, wipe down sinks, countertops, toilet seats and tub and shower walls with disinfecting cleansers or wipes. Take a similar approach in the playroom, targeting walls, shelves, toy chests, drawer handles and closet knobs — anywhere little hands touch (which is almost anywhere that's within their reach).
As a rule, keep personal items (like toothbrushes and towels) personal. Color code them, clean them regularly and store them far enough apart from one another (at least an inch for toothbrushes) so that germs don’t get passed back and forth.
Pay extra attention to healthy home routines when anyone in your household is ill. Be (even more) compulsive about hand washing, put your washing machine in overdrive, stock up on tissues, wipe down bathroom surfaces more frequently and replace toothbrushes.
Wash baby gear
The arrival of a new baby includes a few new chores on your cleaning list:
- Keep the high chair gunk-free. Put the tray directly in the dishwasher for a good scrub or wash it in the sink with dishwashing liquid and warm water once a day (if not more). To get lingering food out of the high chair's crevices (you know it's there), go at it with some dental floss, a toothpick or with a cotton swab dipped in a disinfecting cleaner, a diluted solution of regular, unscented, disinfecting bleach or rubbing alcohol. Don't forget to rinse thoroughly.
- Give bath toys a bath. These need regular cleaning since dirty water can cling to all those little crannies and they're a prime spot for mold and mildew. Wash them in a water-and-bleach solution about once a week, rinse well and store them in a mesh bag or basket so they can air out completely. Hard plastic toys can even go in the dishwasher for a hands-free clean.
- Wipe down the changing table often with mild soap and water. For those times when soap and water isn’t up to the job — when your baby is sick or has just had a massive poop explosion — use a disinfectant solution or wipe to clean the surface, then dry it well with a paper towel. It’s also a good idea to use a pad with a removable cover that you can throw in the laundry regularly to wash the germs away.
Leave shoes by the door
Ask family members and visitors to remove their shoes before coming inside — especially if your house is home to a crawling baby. That way, they’re leaving dirt and bacteria at the welcome mat, not on the floors where your baby spends her days.
Put allergens on alert
If anyone in your house suffers from airborne allergies, make your home healthier by reducing allergens, such as dust mites, mold and pet dander.
- Consider buying a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arresting) filter, which will trap dust mites and other allergens. Also install high-quality filters on your furnace and air-conditioning units and replace them frequently.
- If you have pets, talk with your allergist about the best ways to minimize their effect. Sometimes keeping them out of certain rooms (such as your child’s bedroom) can help.
- Wash bedding once a week in hot water and dry in a hot dryer, and wash drapery once a month. Use a self-service laundry with big machines or send it out to the dry cleaner if you can’t fit it into your washer.
- Cut back on stuffed animals, saving only a few favorites. Dust mites love ’em almost as much as your child does. Bathe those chosen few (with a gentle spin in the washing machine) weekly, or freeze out dust mites by stashing stuffies in the freezer overnight.
- If your house is damp, run a dehumidifier to chase mold away. Vent steam from the kitchen, laundry and bathroom too by opening windows or using exhaust fans.
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