Sanitizing After Santa: When Christmas Brought More Than Gifts to Your Home

Ah, the post Christmas spirit is a special time indeed. Children’s faces are glowing, the living room is covered in new toys being thoroughly enjoyed, and parents and adults bask in the few days of spending time with the ones they love before the reality of work and routine sets back in. Unfortunately, not all homes will get to enjoy this post-holiday relaxation though. Sometimes, Santa brings more than presents, and if a cold or flu made its way down the chimney (or through your front door) this season, Christmas might have been a little less than ideal. That means you’ll be doing more than sipping hot cocoa and enjoying your Christmas gifts once you holiday guests have gone home.

Sanitizing after Santa (or your sniffling out of town guests or poor coughing kiddos) is important as it will not only protect your remaining family from whatever germs came into your house, but it will also keep YOU healthy and able to kick off the New Year in good heath. So where should you focus on cleaning, and how should you do it?

Bedrooms. Did your holiday guests come into town with a touch of a cold that quickly turned into a full-blown flu before they left? Have your kids been coughing since Christmas Eve? Taking time to sanitize the bedrooms in your house is important in keeping your home healthy! Wash all bed linens on hot wash if possible, and spray down mattresses, mattress toppers, drapes, and other fabric surfaces that can’t be washed with a germ-killing spray of your choice. Wipe down hard surfaces like bedside tables, headboards, tv remotes, window curtain and blind cords/rods, light switches, doorknobs, etc. Pretty much any surface that could have been touched should be sanitized. Finally, open windows for a while if you can to air out the room, and vacuum the space with a HEPA filter to take care of any remaining particles.

Bathrooms. Much like the bedroom, all hard surfaces should be cleaned with sanitizing wipes or cleaners, and don’t forget inside the shower or tub! In addition, steam mopping or mopping the floor with an antibacterial cleaner is a good way to take care of any residual viruses hanging around and give you a fresh start to work with.

Whole Home Reminders. Do you keep throws and blankets on chairs and sofas around your home? Wash those for sure! Television remotes are a major hot spot for germs, so cleaning them thoroughly is key when sanitizing after a bout of sickness has hit your household. Extra steps to deep clean after a situation like having people sick around the holidays are running your dishes (especially glassware and utensils) on a sanitizing wash in the dishwasher is a great idea and something not always thought of when cleaning after having company!

We hope you enjoy a happy (and healthy) start to 2020. Carroll Marshall Insurance looks forward to another great year of serving clients in and around the Winter Haven area with top quality insurance coverage. Happy New Year from our family to yours!