Feeling Better
After a seemingly endless assortment of coughing, sneezing and general feelings of unwellness, we seem to have turned the corner on our sickness. My toddler is happily playing by herself again, singing songs and arranging and rearranging a set of nesting boxes all over the living room. My baby son is nursing more frequently again – but much more efficiently, now that his nose isn’t so congested he doesn’t have to stop eating every few seconds to breathe.
We’re better.
Which means the real work begins. After anyone in the house is sick, I like to give everything a good scrub down to get rid of any residual germs and freshen things up.
Starting with our linens, I pull everything off the beds and wash in hot water. Same with towels, wash cloths and any other fabrics we came in contact with – stuffed animals, pillows, clothes, shoes, jackets, or anything else that can go through the washing machine.
Hard plastic toys get cleaned and sanitized in a diluted bleach solution – ½ cup bleach to a gallon of water; soak for five minutes, then rinse thoroughly and allow to air dry.
Fabric or plush toys are a little trickier to clean; most are spot-clean only, so they get wiped down with some gentle soap and water and allowed to dry in the sun to bleach out any germs.
The house also gets a good scrubbing, including high traffic areas like the entire bathroom, door knobs, the refrigerator door handle, and anything else that gets touched frequently – and frequently by germy kid hands. Toothbrushes get tossed out and replaced, and combs and brushes are scrubbed with soapy water. Dishes are washed in the dishwasher using the “sanitize” setting to make sure that they’re nice and clean.
What’s your routine after everyone feels better from being sick?
Read More
Comment on this blog...