As parents, we know that. It is like a superpower. We are perfectly aware that On any given Tuesday the ball will bounce more than it should and will jump to the breakfast table, spilling cereals, milk and pieces of fruit. Losing the countertop, the tiles and our clothes. It is something that will happen, if not this, anything else that requires us to clean.
Accidents, especially with children, occur. And they force us to be more attentive. However, on the subject of cleaning, not all are occasional competitions of clay balls on the curtains. The cleaning and disinfection are periodic processes with which we will anticipate possible infections and keep our environment healthier.
We don't have to wait for our house to become a pitched battle.
The difference between cleaning and disinfection
Cleaning and disinfection are concepts that mix in family terminology, probably due to the fact that both are carried out with similar utensils: with cloths, scourers, mop ... However, these are two different operations (although complementary) that have the same objective: to avoid diseases.
According to the RAE, cleaning is "remove dirt or filth from someone or something", and it is quite similar to that moment in which we remove the dirt from the elder's face with a wet cloth after it seemed a good idea to explore the storage room. Or when we sweep. Cleaning is simply removing layers of dirt from something But with this we don't disinfect.
Disinfecting, again according to the RAE, is "remove something from the infection or the property of causing it, destroying harmful germs or preventing their development"If anyone has imagined a score of flamethrowers fanning out to eliminate an evil alien pathogen, it is not misleading.
Disinfecting is more than cleaning. It is clean, remove, and prevent Possible foci of infection. To clean is to eliminate the visible, while to disinfect is to eliminate the invisible.
When to clean and when to disinfect?
It is very easy to know when to sweep, or when to clean the dust on the furniture. This type of dirt is visible. But germs are not. So, disinfect every day, everything? Luckily for our free time, it won't be necessary.
What will be necessary is measure the use we give to spaces. Thus, it will be advisable to disinfect at least once a week bathroom, kitchen and floors. However, it will also be necessary to disinfect the kitchen every time we handle, for example, raw meat. Similarly, it will be advisable to disinfect a windowless bathroom more than one that allows ventilation. Or the ground that our little ones access.
Cleaning and disinfection of surfaces, especially the floor
The floor is the place where we step with the shoes that bring dirt from the street, or where all the dust perches on the house. But the soil is also the space where our children, especially in the early stages of growth, spend most of their time, playing, crawling, bringing what they find in their mouths ... It is important to pay special attention to the cleaning of this surface .
Some basic cleaning tips will be, on the one hand, vacuum the whole house daily , taking special care to change the vacuum filter when it is full (or it will lose its effectiveness). This will take a few minutes, and we will remove an important layer of dust and mites. The second, take off our shoes when entering the house, avoiding putting them on the ground or on high surfaces where dirt can fall to any other object.
But vacuuming is not enough because we are not disinfecting. Part of the mites will still be there, as will the bulk of the germs. To eliminate them, we must use products with disinfectant properties , such as those containing bleach and detergents. In this case we can use 2in1 Star in the mop bucket for the kitchen and bathroom.
Cleaning and disinfection of the bathroom
The bathroom is the place where we clean ourselves and our children. And yet it is one of the points of housing with more wildlife. Due to the more or less permanent humidity that the shower gives, the fungi and bacteria roam freely, and we must be especially careful , especially with children, who indiscriminately access with their hands everything that is within their reach, such as the floor or the toilet.
Luckily for us, the bathroom is a space in which both floors, walls and furniture (the cup or the bathtub) can be rubbed without bleach is a problem for its surface. What's more, products such as Star 2in1 bleach will help to bleach it and remove those stains that usually appear on the joints of the tiles.
The toilet, both outside and inside, the floor of the shower, the bathtub or the washbasins are places that must be taken care of especially since many bacteria accumulate as a result of their continued and frequent use, and that should try to be removed more frequently usual. Another factor is the number of people who share the bathroom since, in case of being very numerous, cleaning with disinfectant should be more regular. Therefore, with the toilet you have to be especially meticulous especially if there are small children at home who can crawl on the floor and come into contact with the accumulated dirt.
Another place that can accumulate a lot of dirt, and it is important to disinfect, is the bathroom floor, where bacteria can emerge from moisture in mats and the environment. A good idea would be to finish off the bathroom with a jet of bleach in the mop bucket along with other aromatic scouring products and remove the condensation of stains in corners and corners of the wall with a cloth.
It is necessary to avoid that the humidity accumulates after showers or baths of hot water, for this it is important to leave the door open, hang all the towels so that they can dry well and dry traces of water in sinks and floor.
The battlefield of feeding our kids
In the kitchen we prepare food and usually feed our children. There are surfaces, tools and textiles that are used repetitively day after day and in which we have to take special care in hygiene, especially in the child's early years when his immune system is still immature. The high chair, for example, accumulates in its recesses remains of ancient food that we must carefully remove to prevent them from rotting and generating bacteria. Other utensils such as knives, ladles and wooden shovels should not be reused without going through the dishwasher after meals or when preparing different dishes.
Whenever the surface allows it, we can use bleach to make sure we are disinfecting as well as cleaning. 2 in 1 star also applies to the kitchen. The boards where cutting food, marble, countertops, ovens and microwaves should remain clean and disinfected after each meal, inside and out, preventing any remaining remains of the kitchen from drying out and making it more difficult to extract. If you use large trays where to place the fruit or have drawers in the fridge, a good recommendation will be to keep an eye on the state of the food so that pieces in poor condition do not accumulate that in addition to bad smell, force you to have to get rid of these containers .
The wipes, sponges and brushes for dishwashing should be replaced when they lose color and begin to smell since otherwise they lose their effectiveness and stain more than clean. The sink is also an essential place to keep clean and disinfected, because in addition to accumulating food scraps from the dishes, pans with used oil and the lime of its pipes, we often use it to rest the food that we will consume later, as to drain the freshly cooked pasta and wash the fish. Therefore, all work areas where we go to cook (especially if it is raw food such as vegetables, fruit or meat) must be clean and collected, complying with the previous procedure of washing hands always before and after preparation
In a home with a baby, the textiles we use when cooking and eating are under a lot of stress. Bibs, rags and cloth napkins They are in constant use and sometimes do not remain clean more than a few minutes when the child begins to experiment with food. Who has not cleaned the face of a child with food up to the ears with the kitchen towel. This gesture reminds us that we have to change the rags daily, since sometimes we have used it before to dry any surface and the accumulated humidity favors the multiplication of germs.
For the disinfection of these textiles whenever they are light fabrics, we recommend using products such as Neutrex with bleach in the washing machine, which will leave us with the peace of mind of having eliminated the bacteria. In case of having difficult spots, we can soak them with this product for a little while before doing the laundry. In addition, we advise to be careful in drying, avoiding folding and keeping them moist.
Images | Child on the carpet, Cleaning kitchen, Washing the floor, Bathroom, Child
