The baby’s nursery should be the cleanest room in your home. Because of this, it’s necessary to have a daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning schedule for this room. A proper cleaning schedule ensures the room is sanitary and reduces the chances of your baby getting sick from dust, allergens, or germs, as they spend most of their time in the nursery in their early years.
Although most parents thoroughly clean and maintain everything in their baby’s nursery, certain items can be easy to miss. Here are some nursery items that can elude even the most dutiful parent during cleaning time.
1. Hanging Decorations
One of the most skipped or missed items to clean in a nursery are hanging decorations and baby mobiles. Although these items might be clean at first glance, they can easily accumulate dust. When this happens, dust can easily reach your baby. Aside from mobiles, art pieces hung on the walls, memo boards, and fairy lights above your baby’s crib can also accumulate dust.
When cleaning these items, it’s best to take them down and outside the nursery for cleaning. You don’t want to dust them off inside the nursery, as it will settle somewhere inside the room, and worst, your baby might inhale it.
The cleaning methods would depend on the material of the hanging item. For example, if it’s a glass frame or anything with a solid surface, you can dust it with a clean cloth or feather duster. If there are more stuck-on particles in the item, you can attach a soft brush attachment to a vacuum cleaner and do another pass to remove the dirt stuck on the item.
2. Empty Trash Cans
The trash cans inside the nursery can be the filthiest item in the room, even if they are empty. This is where you put used nappies, dry leftover food, baby wipes, etc. Even if they’re sealed in trash bags inside your bin, leaving them inside the room for prolonged periods isn’t advisable. For one, trash bags can easily tear open and leave the room with a nasty smell.
As such, it’s always recommended to empty the trash bin occasionally. Even if it’s not yet full, make a point to empty it. Use child-safe disinfectants to clean the trash bin and continue using it normally.
3. Art Supplies
Parents often use pencils, crayons, and other art supplies in the nursery to foster their children’s creativity at home. However, as these items are the most frequently touched items inside the room, germs can quickly accumulate.
You can make it a routine for kids to tidy up their art-making space after every activity. Put dedicated containers for their art supplies. Aside from keeping things clean, some items might spill and leave your room looking messy.
Of course, you should also clean these items at least once a week. During deep cleaning, use a damp cloth and mild detergent to disinfect the art materials, like scissors and glue bottles. For melted wax or oil-based products, you can use plastic cards to scrape those wax off the hard surfaces like walls and tables.
4. Storage Boxes and Baskets
Typical nurseries have plenty of storage baskets and boxes where books, toys, and other items are placed. The items inside these boxes are usually cleaned. However, the boxes and baskets are often skipped or entirely forgotten during cleaning schedules.
As such, it is a good idea to take the bins out for cleaning at least once every week. You can use a cloth dipped in cleaner to wipe the surface of the boxes and baskets. Make sure to wipe the corner and bottom of the bin, ensuring no dirt remains. Afterwards, wash it with water at least three times before wiping it with a clean cloth to dry it. Once dry, use disinfectant before returning it inside the nursery.
5. Carpets and Rugs
You should get the carpet inside the nursery professionally cleaned once every three months, depending on how dusty it gets. It’s easy to forget this, especially since the cleaning schedule is less frequent. For thorough carpet cleaning, it’s safe to use steam cleaning or hot water extraction. Many professional cleaning services also offer this method. You just have to shop for your area’s best service and price.
You can just put rugs in the washing machine (if they’re machine washable) at least once a week. Steaming is the most effective method for deep cleaning, as it can loosen dirt and grime and kill bacteria.
Wrapping Up
Babies spend a lot of time in the nursery, so it’s considered the most sensitive place in the home. To ensure they are lying, crawling, falling, and playing in a safe and healthy place, don’t miss these items that are easy to skip during nursery clean-ups. Whether it’s routine tidying or specialized tasks like blood cleanup in Charlotte, add these items to your clean-up checklist so there’s no excuse for missing them next time!