Spring cleaning is a common practice for many families. We often take extra time to dust, clean closets, and shampoo upholstery in the spring but, when we have a baby, there are some special baby safe cleaning procedures that should be added to our To Do lists!
CHECK FOR RECALLS
Believe it or not, there are thousands of recalls each year on baby and child toys and accessories. Everything from high chairs to car seats to teething rings are determined to be unsafe and in need of additional parts, exchange, or a good toss in the dumpster. While many products come with a postage-paid card for you to register your product and give the company your contact information so they can reach out to purchasers who need replacement products, what busy mom has the time or energy to fill these out and mail them?
The best way to ensure your baby products are safe and have not been recalled is to check one of the online recall databases on a regular basis. A great time to do this is during Spring Cleaning when you’re sorting and cleaning toys, furniture, and accessories.
CLEAN YOUR BABY’S TOYS
Between teething drool, jelly-covered fingers, and spit-up, an annual toy cleaning is an absolute necessity. Most plastic toys can be run through the dishwasher (top rack, of course) while wooden toys can be washed with soap and warm water. Inspect anything electronic with buttons and batteries for loose parts and sharp edges. Watch out for stuffed animals with bows, strings, or googly eyes that might be starting to fall off.
All toys should be wiped down on a regular basis but, for baby safe cleaning, give them a really good scrubbing to get rid of germs and any build-up that went unnoticed in the months of heavy use while you’ve been stuck indoors.
Read Related: 7 Tips for Successful Spring Cleaning
CLEANING UPHOLSTERY
Baby swings, high chairs, and cars eats can get quite disgusting with regular use. There’s no doubt that your child has vomited, snacked, spit-up, and had a blowout diaper in one (or all three!) of these seats. For most, the upholstery can be removed (with some practice, it gets easier but your first time yanking it off is going to suck, trust me!) and tossed in the washing machine with some laundry detergent then hung to dry.
For fabric that simply cannot be removed from the seat, use upholstery cleaner or diluted vinegar to spot clean. For deodorizing, sprinkle some baking soda on the fabric and let it sit before vacuuming the powder (and odor) away.
This spring, add a couple of baby safe cleaning procedures to your spring cleaning To Do list and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with taking great care to ensure the health and safety of your infant or toddler.
