Disinfecting Tips to Get You Through the School Season

One of my big priorities this school year is to keep my kiddos healthy and engaged in school (and life!) by staying ahead of the spread of bacteria and viruses around our house. The more ways I can find to do that, the better!

We keep a variety of Seventh Generation disinfecting products around the house (and even in our cars) for easy access. They are easy to use and do not require rinsing after use- even on food contact surfaces. Here are some ideas for incorporating helpful disinfecting practices to help tackle household germs.

“The Wipes”

I know the second my kids are released from school, their playful and curious little hands are all over everything. It doesn’t take much imagination to start seeing commonly handled areas as real time petri dishes. That’s why convenient disinfecting wipes are a go-to and are strategically placed in every room in our house and every vehicle we own. Some ideas for using these disinfecting wipes:

• Wipe down doorknobs and light switches.
• Keep a container in your car and grab a wipe to clean door handles, the steering wheel, gear shift, and other frequently-touched hard surfaces.
• Hit your phone and handheld devices with a wipe if the kids have been handling it for games or to play music after school—also useful for a swipe over a computer keyboard and mouse.
• Wipe down the outside of steel or plastic lunch boxes.
• Pencil boxes, plastic binders, and other school supplies* (like plastic rulers, scissors, and pens) your kids may bring home could stand a wipe or two also.
• Chairs and desks at school. Our teachers have been open to using Seventh Generation wipes (Link opens in new window.) so I make sure I keep them supplied all year.

Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner

I’ve been using the Seventh Generation’s Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner (Link opens in new window.) for years. I keep this cleaner in the kitchen and in every bathroom in the house. I feel powerful in cleaning the heck out of the soiled and heavily used areas of my house. Here are some ideas for using this disinfectant spray to help kill household germs that may lead to sickness:

• The winner for the most common room in my house that interfaces with this cleaner: the bathroom, no doubt. Without going into too much detail, we all know how messy young boys can be in the bathroom!
• My kitchen counters get multiple doses of this cleaner every day. It is a surface that is exposed to many household germs.  And a microbe-ridden counter is the last place I want to be preparing food for my family. I love that this multi-surface cleaning product kills 99.99% of household germs and there is no rinse required, even on food contact surfaces. 

Disinfectant Spray

This fairly new Seventh Generation disinfecting spray product is a handy addition to my cleaning arsenal. With three busy (and sometimes smelly) little boys running amok at my house, this can be a lifesaver. Here are some ideas for using this product:

• Disinfecting toys and things with angles that can hard to wipe around (think surfaces like plastic toys, game pieces, plastic dolls, toy figures, and plastic building tiles/blocks).
• When I hear that someone in class or at a sleepover is sick, I’ll often take stock of the various stuff they had with them at the time and go over all hard, non-porous surfaces with a few sprays.
• When it’s your kiddo who’s sick you can help kill household germs by using this simple to use product to disinfect their supplies and toys*.
• Spray desks, lockers, and school supplies* as needed. 

Keep in mind, ALL of the Seventh Generation botanical disinfectants :

1. Kill 99.99% of household germs.
2. Contain the active ingredient Thymol (present as a component of Thyme Oil).
3. Do not require rinsing or wiping
4. Are super convenient and can be used on *hard, nonporous surfaces

What strategies do you use to kill household germs or to help prevent the spread of illness among your family?

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