Cleaning your house without Harsh Chemicals…Safe for baby

You may have come across few house cleaning products being very strong smelling and pungent when the cap is opened. It makes you cough or sneeze. Just imagine the load on your baby who is lying in the cradle or may have started to crawl around.

Harsh household cleaners can affect a baby’s eyes, airways, skin, and more. Infact elders have problem like itching or hand becoming rough and dry. To keep away the odors you may use a room freshener.

You can keep your house clean , spic and span and at the same time relieve yourself of the worry that the child will get affected.

Few safety measures to be followed.

• Keep your stock out of the reach of children. Preferable keep in lock and key. You may have across news regarding babies accidently tripping the container or consuming it due to attractive colors. You can imagine the risk in case of ingestion due to its strength and composition.
• Close the caps of the containers tightly to avoid leakage if tripped. Keep cleaning accessories away from the common rooms. Use separate cleaning buckets for diluting cleaners and mopping the room.
• Do not carry the baby in the course of your cleaning activities. Wash your hands thoroughly and then carry the baby.
• Plan your cleaning activities such that baby does not get disturbed. Do not do cleaning activities with the baby in the room. Ventilate the room befor baby is brought in. This will prevent harsh chemicals come into contact.

Common problems associated with Household cleaners:

Household cleaners with harsh ingredients not only kill germs and remove tough stains, they can affect your baby’s health in a number of ways.

Breathing problems. Powerful fumes from household cleaners can irritate your baby’s airways, making allergy or asthma symptoms worse.

Eczema. A baby’s skin is sensitive, and studies have found that irritants and allergens in household cleaners and detergents can cause skin irritation.

Allergies. Some researchers believe that having a home that’s too clean can increase the long-term risk of allergies in a child. It’s called the hygiene hypothesis.  For the child’s immune without some exposure to germs, a child’s immune system might not develop normally. Instead, it becomes hypersensitive and begins to overreact to harmless allergens, like pollen or dander.

Eye irritation. Household cleaner fumes can also irritate your baby’s eyes, causing redness and watering. If accidently is splashed directly into the eyes, some cleaners can cause serious damage.

Unknown health effects. Few household cleaners have fragrances that contain chemicals like phthalates . Some studies have found a possible connection between phthalates and disrupted hormone levels.

Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers for plastics. It increases the softness, flexibility and better processing of plastics

To be cautious, many parents try to reduce the use of household cleaners that contain harsh chemicals.

Tips for Baby-Safe Cleaning

Every woman wants to have their house spic and span, sparkling clean. There are lots of good ways to practice child-safe cleaning.  You need to make a balance between cleaning your home and the safety of your baby. There is no need to break your back and clean every inch of your home.

Allocate time for getting things organized, away from the floor. Minimize dust entry and remove unwanted things in the room. They actually collect dust and becomes impossible to clean.

Opt  safer household cleaners. Select household cleaners that are less caustic and friendlier to both the environment and the body. Look for “green” and “nontoxic” cleaners, or products that say, “petroleum-free,” “biodegradable”, “phosphate-free”, “Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) free”, or “solvent-free.”

Less is more. Household cleaners can be diluted with water and it cleans quite effectively. Diluting a cleaner is an easy way of making it less harsh and better for child-safe cleaning. Diluting a cleaner will have cost benefits too. The only caution is not to retain the diluted cleaning solution. It will not be effective for later use.

Avoid the antibacterial soap. Despite the popularity of antibacterial soaps, plain old soap and water will get the germs off just as well. Antibacterial soap not only contains chemicals you don’t need, but in the long term it may increase the risk of creating tougher, resistant bacteria. Your child will not have resistance  to external conditions and will fall sick when exposed to climatic changes

Preferably use natural cleaners available in the kitchen – baking soda , lime and vinegar. In case you engage a cleaning service or a maid to do the task, explain them the cleaning resources and the areas to avoid any confusion and incidents.

If you are planning to remove cobwebs that got accumulated, cover all furniture and baby items. Dust thoroughly with a vacuum cleaner. Otherwise the dust will spread from one surface to the other. Change all bed covers where the baby will come into contact.

Stop dirt from getting in the house.  Place a huge door mat to wipe your feet as you come in the house, it will keep out dirt as well as any contaminants from outside. The better option will be to place a shoe rack outside to prevent dust and contaminants coming into the house. You are confident to make your baby move around inside the house.

When you make a transition to child-safe cleaning routines, there’s one thing you might miss: that clean smell. The fact is the smell is just chemically produced. “Real clean doesn’t have a scent.”

When you start practicing the simple cleaning methods your house will be clean but will not smell as if you are in a garden. Your bathroom and toilets will be clean but not antiseptic as an operation theatre. You are doing your best in a safe manner to keep your child free of infection.