It’s 3AM and you wake up to the sound of a sick child’s footsteps running to your room or the bathroom. You instantly know you won’t be getting much sleep the rest of the night or much work done the next day. And coffee, movies, soup, and children’s pain reliever will be your best friends for the foreseeable future. Ugh. We know how you feel! But remember that you will get through it and a healthy child will return to you soon! In the meantime, we fully support any means necessary for survival when your child is sick. 

Whether you have a sick child or a recently recovered child, have you ever asked yourself what to clean or how to disinfect your house in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, you can prevent your entire family from succumbing to the illness? Well, you’re in luck! We’ve done the research and have a handy list of things you should clean when your child is sick (or immediately following their recovery). Bookmark this because you’ll want to refer to it as a guide the next time you’re nursing your household back to health. 

Top 12 things to clean and sanitize when your child is sick: 


1. All bedding items.

Child Sneezing Into A Tissue

Launder all bedding including sheets, mattress pads, comforters, pillow covers and cases. You’ll want to wash your own as well, especially if your little ‘patient’ made it into your bed at some point. This is something you may want to do throughout the sickness and especially once your child has recovered. Make sure to wash in hot water to get rid of all the germs! 


2. Stuffed animals, loveys and toys.

Sick Teddy Bear

Consider washing all of your little one’s stuffed animals, other softy ‘lovey’ type items and favorite toys. This is particularly important if your little one sleeps with these items (and if your little one still puts them in their mouth too!). Wash soft items in the gentle cycle with warm water or even hand wash and place them in the sunshine to thoroughly dry them.

For plastic or wooden toys, use a non-toxic cleaner (or make your own vinegar cleaner) and wipe down your child’s favorite toys. You might want to consider putting away less loved toys to reduce the amount of cleaning you have to do once your child is well again.


3. Hand towels & dish towels.

Kitchen Towels

These two items should be washed in hot water regularly, sick kid or not. But especially when there are viruses or bacteria roaming throughout your home. You may want to consider using disposable paper towels while you’re fighting a sickness. We know this isn’t super eco-friendly, but it’s a temporary fix to prevent spreading germs through hand and dish towels. 


4. The washing machine!

Child Reaching Into The Washing Machine

Yes, you read that right!! This is an often forgotten appliance we all neglect! Once you have finished washing all the soiled and germy soft items, run an empty cycle with hot water to make sure you kill any leftover bacteria and to prevent those bacteria from getting on other items (clothing, etc.) you put in the washing machine next. This is a great way to maintain the health and well-being of your washer for the long term too! (and the health of your family!).


5. Anything with a button.

Child Holding A Remote Control

If it has a button, clean it! Gather all the remotes and controllers, or anything else with a button and make sure to disinfect it thoroughly. We often forget about these items which can definitely harbor some serious germs. Don’t forget about laptops, tablets, and phones! PRO TIP: this is something you should do when the sickness first shows symptoms, but also after recovery because chances are your little one was using their tablet or watching TV while they were recovering and you’ll want to get rid of any germs once everyone is healthy!


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6. The dreaded bathroom!

Bathroom

Does anyone like the cleaning bathroom? We don’t think so. And especially bathrooms that have been contaminated by icky viruses and germs. But it’s a definite ‘must clean’ when your child is sick. And an even bigger must clean if the sickness is some sort of stomach bug! 


7. Toothbrushes.

Child Brushing Teeth

The safest way to ensure you aren’t spreading germs while brushing teeth is to get new toothbrushes. If you choose this option, do this AFTER your kiddo or anyone else in the household recovers. If you want to disinfect the toothbrush, you can do so by soaking in boiling water, putting it in the dishwasher, or even using a vinegar mixture! PS: this might be something you want to implement even when you have a healthy household!


8. Kitchen sponges.

Kitchen Sponge

Think about it: they sit in water, scrub food off dirty plates, wipe down countertops and everyone touches them. YUCK—these things get icky! In fact, kitchen sponges are one of the dirtiest things in your home (read about the other dirtiest items in your home too)! Even dirtier than a toilet! Under normal circumstances, you should be replacing kitchen sponges every one to two weeks. If you have a sick family member, do it ASAP. You can also give your sponge a deep clean by sticking it in the dishwasher or soaking it in water and putting it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. (Be careful when you take it out, it will be HOT!)


9. Door knobs & handles.

Child Reaching For A Door Handle

Thankfully, this is a super quick way to get rid of germs in your house and disinfect “high touch” areas. Grab a microfiber cloth or use eco-friendly paper towels, spray some eco-friendly and non-toxic cleaner on it, and go from door to door and room to room. It shouldn’t take you too long! If you want to get super fancy, you can also use a handheld steamer to really kill those bad germies!


10. Light switches!

Light Switch

After you’ve gone through the house and done all the door handles and knobs, do the same thing for light switches! Another “high touch” area where germs can live when your child is sick. 


11. Baby gear including car seats, strollers and high chairs.

Mom Going To The Doctors Office With Her Baby

Even when your child is sick you still need to get them places and function to some level of normalcy. Maybe you have to drive your ill child to a doctors appointment, walk to the pharmacy, or feed them soda crackers in their high chair. You’ll want to deep clean ALL these items so the germs don’t stick around and possibly infect others in your household. If you just need a rest after chasing your child around with tissues all day, and you don’t have enough energy to clean even more stuff, call in the experts instead! Hint…that’s us!! BabyQuip Cleaning can clean and sanitize all the icky germs, bacteria and viruses away.


12. Last but not least, countertops.

Woman Cleaning The Counter

It goes without saying that your countertops attract and house all the bacteria, dust, germs, and viruses. Everything lands on flat countertops! You definitely want to make sure you are cleaning your countertops thoroughly throughout the entire time when your child is sick. And once everyone is recovered, do a deep cleaning of your countertops to make sure you get rid of any leftover germs. 


Phew! Just sharing that advice made us tired! We know this isn’t the fun stuff required of a parent but it’s the necessary stuff when your child is sick. And remember, your little one will recover and you’ll get back to normal soon. But for now, focus on helping them feel better, all the extra cuddles, all the extra coffee, and cleaning as soon you can.