Healthy and happy
Children make dirt – and parents clean it up. Of course, a household with children should be as clean as possible. Children lie, sit and play on the floor. They touch everything and discover things with their mouths. Especially at the crawling stage, children should not find things on the floor that are unsuited for them. Yet, you shouldn’t take the idea of cleanliness too far. A sterile household is not the goal and isn’t good for the child either.
It is important not to use too much cleaning liquid. It may contain harmful substances that impact the environment and remain in the air, on the floor and on the furniture where your child may be exposed to them. Take a look in your cleaning cupboard and decide which products you really need. It is quite enough to have just a few products that can do many jobs. Not every piece of furniture needs its own special cleaning product.
Easy alternatives
Use cleaning cloths made of micro fibre that only need a little cleaning agent or none at all. Use the liquid sparingly. And don’t forget to close the lid firmly after using it. Then store it outside the reach of the children – even if the lid has a child safety device.
Choose cleaning agents that are bio-degradable. Perfumed cleaning agents with fresh scents are not necessary. The scent has no cleaning effect and may lead to irritations or even allergies. Phosphates, chlorine and disinfectants as well as bleaches and solvents are to be avoided. For the bathroom, it is good to use cleaning agents based on citric or lactic acid (check the label). Preferably, use products with non-ionic tensides (these are wetting agents) than with anionic tensides, because they are less aggressive. Citric acid is good for decalcifying surfaces. Generally, it is enough to use a multi-purpose cleaning agent – the name has its reason.
