What to Clean Before Brining Your New Baby Home

Cleaning Tips for Newborn Baby

There’s no doubt about it, preparing your home for a new baby is a huge feat. You need to stock up on supplies, baby-proof areas like sockets and sharp corners, paint the nursery and that’s not even counting the ways you’ll need to mentally prepare!

One thing that new-moms-to-be are liable to forget about in the stress and excitement of having a new baby is cleaning the home. Bringing a new baby into your house is a great reason to do a little spring cleaning, no matter what time of year it is. You don’t want built up dust and grime bothering your newborn; plus, you’ll probably have a ton of visitors in the next few months, and visitors usually bring their germs with them.

If you’re not sure where to start when it’s time to start cleaning your home in preparation for baby, here’s a list for you and your partner to tackle together.

Clean the Crib & Changing Table Before Baby Arrives

Even if you just purchased your baby’s bedroom furniture, it will need to be cleaned before the baby comes home. The warehouse or shop where the furniture was built or  sold probably was not the most sanitary space,  so make sure to disinfect all surfaces.

If your items are hand-me-downs, use an eraser sponge to remove stickers, crayon marks, and other general wear and tear that may show on the furniture.

Clean the Nursery Curtains Before Bringing Baby home

If your nursery has curtains hung on the windows, take them down and wash them before baby arrives. Curtains are notorious for holding dust build-up, so if you’re making some cosmetic updates to the room, go with blinds instead. They’re easier to clean, and won’t hold as much dust.

What to Clean Before Brining Your New Baby Home Clean the Car Before Taking Your Baby Home

Head to the garage for your next cleaning task: Give your car a good cleaning on the interior before you drive baby home from the hospital. Build up on the door handles and steering wheel can transfer from your hands onto your newborn, and since they hardly have an immune system yet, you don’t want to risk them getting sick!

Use our microfiber cloths and disinfectant spray on all parts of the car’s interior (and exterior, like door handles) that you touch on a regular drive. And, while you’re at it, make sure baby’s car seat handles are disinfected, and if you can remove the padding for baby’s seat, toss it in the wash.

Clean the Carpets Before Bringing Baby Home

Carpeting is another notorious item for storing dust and mildew. Check out a non-toxic cleaning service. It may not smell as lemon-y fresh, but it’ll clean your carpets without leaving behind chemicals that can be harmful to your baby.

Clean the Kitchen Before Bringing Your Baby Home

Baby food prep, whether you’re breastfeeding or not, will most likely happen in the kitchen—those bottles of breastmilk won’t warm themselves up, after all. Make sure you do a deep clean of your kitchen, including all surfaces, the sink, and the inside of your appliances, including the fridge and the microwave. Anything that you do in the kitchen (like marinating cubes of raw chicken) could come in contact with a baby food item or your formula. Take precautions once baby arrives, but a deep-clean prior to that day will make you worry less.

What to Clean Before Brining Your New Baby Home Clean all Linens Before Baby Arrives

Don’t just open a fresh set of sheets for the crib and throw them on: make sure to machine wash them with soap that’s safe for baby. You should do the same for your bedding, too, including your comforter and any throw pillows that you have hanging around. Chances are, you and baby will be spending quite a bit of time napping in your bed, so cleaning the crib is only half the battle.

Preparing to bring home baby doesn’t have to be a scary process. If you make a list of all the items you need to clean prior to leaving for the hospital, then you and your partner can cross everything off in a couple of days.

Once baby arrives, don’t forget to work these disinfecting practices into your regular cleaning routine: wiping down surfaces with disinfecting wipes will keep your baby from being exposed to potentially germs! And tools like microfiber clothes and eraser sponges can help make your cleaning routine easier to deal with.

For more information on how to stay clean after baby comes home, click here to read our post about how eraser sponges will make cleaning a breeze for any mom.

Are You Ready to Start Your Spring Cleaning?

The first day of spring is less than a week away, which means that it’s just about time to open your windows to let some fresh air in as you start your spring cleaning routine.

After a long, cold winter indoors, there is nothing better than the thought of wiping away all the germs, brushing the dirt outside and starting anew.

While you’re busy washing the windows, wiping down the counters and scrubbing the bathroom tile, you might begin to wonder when and why spring cleaning came about?

The tradition actually began hundreds of years ago and was performed in cultures across the globe.

Why?

Because homes were heated by fireplace and it wasn’t until the weather warmed up that families could open all the doors and windows to sweep out all the soot and grime that had accumulated during the frigid winter months.

Lucky for us, spring cleaning isn’t quite such a big chore nowadays, and can easily be spread out and completed over the course of a few days or weeks.

As the spring season draws nearer, we recommend writing down a list of the big chores you would like to tackle, then deciding when you will perform each one.

Not sure where to start with your big cleaning project?

Here are some of the chores that SpongeOutlet recommends doing about once a year:

  • Clean Beneath and Behind Appliances
  • Clean Inside Oven
  • Wash Windows
  • Clean Curtains

Along with these big tasks, spring cleaning is also a great opportunity to wipe down your baseboards, cabinets, counters and other surfaces as well as wash and vacuum the floors.

Now that you’ve decided what you will be cleaning this spring, it’s time to order the supplies you will need to get the job done.

From Eraser Sponges to Melamine Floor Pads, SpongeOutlet has everything you need to make cleaning a breeze this year!