You May Be Neglecting These Places That Your Kids Are Picking Up Germs From

With the fear and anxiety around the Covid-19 situation gripping the world now, there has been heightened attention and focus on hygiene practices. This respiratory virus is likely to infect people with low immunities such as children and elderly as it has been observed that they are more prone to contracting it.

It is good that parents are paying more attention to sanitising surfaces that children come in contact with and getting them to wash their hands frequently. It is also important to make sure that parents are absolutely taking care of every need for their child’s utmost health and well-being.

Sure, throwing soiled clothes into the wash is steadfast and easy but when it comes to these areas that could inhabit germs, we often overlook them or have never thought to clean them. To make sure that you are not missing anything out, here are 10 places that are consistently missed out and overlooked.

1. Car Seats

Photo by: TOMSICKOVA TATYANA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Children spend a great deal of time in their car seats. As a family, you will undoubtedly spend a lot of time in the car, traveling from play dates to the grocery store to Grandma's house and back again. Think about it – the number of hours your child spends in the car and in his car seat.

Photo of a corner underneath the fabric of a baby's car seat

With parents allowing their kids to eat while strapped in, it is also not surprising that you find food remnants crammed in the tiny crevices of their seats and their seats become breeding grounds of bacteria (as those food remnants rot away or attract ants and cockroaches, eww!).

Simply giving the car seat exterior a wipe-down and vacuuming the fabrics is not enough. This is because food remnants, miniature toys and hair clips often slip through the gaps into the interior. If the steps to dismantle the car seat seem too overwhelming or time-consuming, PramWash can do it for you. A session costs from $57.90 for Basic Cleaning to $126.90 for Ultimate Cleaning.

1. Strollers

Photo by BuyBuyBaby.com / PopSugar

Kids transfer from the car seat to the stroller, and back again, almost like clockwork. 

As many of us know, not only car seats but baby prams too, can be storing grounds for food remnants, stains and spills, therefore encouraging the rapid growth of bacteria and creating an unhealthy environment for new-born and toddlers. 

Whenever there is a spill or vomit, quickly clean as much as you can with some cleansing wipes before you are able to attend to it properly at home.

Photo of Stroller with mould and after deep cleaning and sanitising with Pramwash

Same thing: If you do not have the expertise to dismantle and then reassemble the baby stroller after cleaning, you can always contact us to help you.

1. High Chairs

Photo by whattoexpect.com

Any parent with a self-feeding child knows how ridiculously messy it can get. Sometimes when you take the child out of their high chair after a meal, you will find more food beneath them than in their belly.

If you do not clean your child’s high chair regularly, you can end up with caked-on crud and stained, grimy straps.

If you are not careful to clean up all the spilled, smashed, and ground-in food from your child’s high chair regularly, you may be exposing kids to dangerous bacteria. A study of restaurant high chairs (which are not deep-cleaned regularly) found that the dirty children’s seats harboured more germs than a public toilet seat.

Wipe down the high chair tray after each meal with a surface sanitiser, wipe or brush down the seat every couple of days and do a deeper clean of the whole chair at least once a month.

1. Baby Cots

Photo by parentinghow.com

A UK-based company specialising in reviewing goods for consumers conducted a survey to find out how often parents cleaned their kids' cot mattresses. They found out that most parents preferred to wipe or wash the mattress cover once every week; but there is no set period of use between washing.

So, before you go ahead and throw all your child's bedding in the laundry, it is recommended that parents change the mattress cover at least once or twice every week.

This is on the assumption that you are in the habit of getting to any spills and messes right away.

For minimal cleaning, simply vacuum, apply a disinfectant spray and wipe the cot mattress to protect baby against allergies and dust mites.

South African beds company Sealy advises against drenching mattresses with water, as this may cause the mattress to not fully dry which may lead to your mattress getting stinky.

1. Baby Carriers

Photo by thebabyinmotion

The thing is, carriers can get dirty and need to be washed. Whether it's sweat from you (or dad when you take turns carrying the baby), or spit up from your baby, you want to keep your carrier clean. Mothers also often breast-feed babies in carriers. Also, the sling/straps may brush the floor while you are attempting to strap the baby.

If it gets dirty, you can machine wash it in a cold and gentle cycle, and it'll come out looking clean and fresh. To maintain the color and integrity of the fabric your carrier is made out of, you’ll want to use a gentle yet effective detergent. If you are not sure how to do it, Pramwash attends to baby carriers too.