Tips for Cleaning Your House After Illness

Keeping your house clean and tidy is a great way to keep germs away, especially in the cooler months when cold and flu germs can play havoc on your household. Cleaning and disinfecting your house doesn’t have to take hours every day. It can be done quickly and easily with these great tips for cleaning your house after illness.

Tips for Cleaning Your House After Illness

The House

First thing you need to do is open the windows and let the fresh air in! As we live in a warmer climate, I leave the windows open all year round, closing them slightly in winter, and fully when it is bushfire season and there is a lot of smoke around.

When you do a basic clean, you remove the dirt, grease and germs that are on a surface, but does it kill the germs? No! Sanitising does help with reducing the germs and spreading infections, but when you disinfect, the germs on the surfaces are killed. The risk of the infection spreading is very minimal.

To properly clean and disinfect our house, I use natural cleaners as shop bought ones contain a lot of nasties and harmful ingredients, though it is up to you what you use. If making your own non-toxic spray or wipe, you will need ingredients that have antibacterial and antiviral qualities such as:

• Alcohol {Everclear 190 proof} or 91% / 99% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). The key here is to have a product that is at least 70% alcohol. 
• Hydrogen Peroxide – It has antibacterial and anti fungal properties, though do not use on stone such as granite and marble as it can etch the surface over time. It is also effective against mold and mildew
• Essential Oils – depending on the oils that you use, they may have antibacterial and antiviral properties as well as germ-fighting properties.

With your disinfecting spray or wipes, clean everything. Yes, everything. Door knobs, light switches, appliance handles, remote controls, appliances, your phone, lamp switches.

Here is a printable list of many things that you may not have thought about.

Don’t forget to thoroughly clean the sick person’s bedroom as well. Everything from the fan down to the floor needs to be cleaned and the room needs to be aired.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms need to be cleaned thoroughly. The shower, the toilet, basin, bathtub, floor and cabinet all need a thorough clean. This is also a great time to replace the toothbrushes. I always have a bunch of these toilet cleaning bombs on hand which can be thrown into the toilet when necessary.

Bed Linens

Strip the beds completely, washing everything including the mattress cover, pillow covers, blankets, quilt covers and sheets, washing them in hot water with a laundry sanitiser. Use your machines hottest setting and definitely not the shortest cycle. I add a small about of white vinegar to the fabric softener part of the washing machine with a couple of drops of essential oils. Air out the pillows outside if possible.

Toys

If you have children who have been sick, it is a good idea to clean and disinfect their toys as they may also carry germs. Things like lego and action figures can be washed on the top rack in the dishwasher – on a gentle cycle, though I prefer to soak them in hot water and wash by hand.

Stuffed toys can be cleaned on a gentle cycle in the washing machine and dried in the sun or at the very least, spray it down with disinfectant and left to dry.

Diffuse

Diffusing essential oils not only makes the house smell lovely, but they can be effective in helping to keep germs away. A protective blend like Germ Fighter or Germ Destroyer for those with kids is a blend that I like to use or these combinations may help.