A clean home makes a happy healthy home

A Clean Home makes a healthy home

It's no fun being sick, or caring for a sick baby, or worst of all trying to do both at once. Head off illness by practicing simple hygiene and cleaning routines. As a precaution all our cleaning services are coupled with disinfecting. Whether you want a fast and effective disinfectant treatment, or a detailed deep clean, we can help you create a plan to keep you and your family safe and healthy.

A healthy home can be easier to achieve than you think. Here are a few tips for a Healthy home:

1. MAKE HAND WASHING A PRIORITY FOR EVERYONE

Family members, visitors, and every one entering the house should wash their hands frequently: Before eating or preparing food, after using the bathroom, 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.

2. BANISH FOOD-BORNE ILLNESSES

For adults or older children, a food-borne 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 (counter tops, 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).·

3. 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. Crib sheets need more frequent changing, since they’re prone to be covered with all manner of leaks, spills, dribbles, and drool. 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.

Even if your mattress looks clean, it could still be filled with pests, their feces, body fluids and dangerous bacteria. Vacuum you mattress at least once a week and have your mattress deep cleaned at least once a year.

4. STOP ILLNESS FROM SPREADING

As a rule, keep personal items (toothbrushes, 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.

5. LEAVE SHOES BY THE WELCOME MAT

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, and choking hazards) at the door, not on the floors where your baby spends her days.

6. 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.

· Cut back on stuffed animals (dust mites love ’em almost as much as your child does), saving only a few favorites. 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).

7. POPULATE WITH PLANTS

Bring nature indoors and your baby's lungs will thank you. Air-cleaning plants don't just make your rooms look pretty, they detox your home by removing pollutants like ammonia (found in cleaning products) and formaldehyde (found in furniture). Rather than scattering single plants around, create group displays in each room for maximum air-cleaning effect.