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New Moms

Baby and Pet Safe House Cleaning Tips

The budding friendship between your new baby and your pet most often falls somewhere between hilarious and heartwarming. While there are sure to be slip-ups to mend and messes to pick up along the way, it’s all well and good so long as you keep their relationship clean where it counts.

Child sits on floor surrounded by toys next to dog looking out window with front paws on windowsill

Most messes are par for the course, but there are some scenarios and cleaning tips you should keep in mind that can help mitigate any disasters.

Before baby arrives

Because the baby may leave you lacking the time to clean your house for a while, it’s especially important to do a thorough deep clean before their arrival, and while you still have the energy to clean. With the right household cleaning products, pet hair removal can be a simple task—leaving you plenty of time for other chores.

  • Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Arresting. These filters remove a very high percentage of airborne pollutants, resulting in less pet dander floating around in your home.
  • Vacuum regularly to prevent pet hair and associated allergens from building up and becoming harder to remove from fabric upholstery, carpeting and flooring.
  •  Use Lysol® Disinfecting Wipes to remove some allergens on hard, non-porous surfaces and kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses* while you’re at it.

*Use as directed

Pet’s Eating Area

One simple thing to be conscious of is the cleanliness of your pet’s eating area. Let’s face it, our pets may be messier eaters than even our finger-mashing little rascals.

Pets that eat dry food are particularly likely to crunch their food away from their bowls and spread germ-ridden crumbs all over the surrounding floor. Since your little one is either already or soon to be on the move (and close to the ground), this pet problem calls for regular sweeping and cleaning.

Pet’s Dirty Toys

Another potentially harmful circumstance is your baby getting their hands on your pet’s dirty toys. Your pet probably sticks their nose in many places you’d rather them not—so you certainly don’t want your child playing with their pet’s toys that can be covered with germs.

  • Wipe down the dirty toys, rinse them thoroughly with water, and then dry them off before sending your pet running around to fetch any of them.
  • With fabric toys, you’ll want to hand wash them or run them through your washer to kill the germs.

By keeping the environment clean for your new baby and pet, you’ll be creating a happy and healthy foundation for their relationship. Implement these cleaning tips not just to help protect your baby, but also so that your pet and your child can begin an ever-lasting friendship.

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