How to get rid of bacteria and mold in children's spaces?

04 Jun, 2019

There is not a room in your home more important to keep clean than where your children play and sleep. Great care is needed when using any kind of cleaning products around young children as their immune systems are not fully developed and compromised. Our goal is to keep chemicals to safely eliminate and not introduce anything harmful into the environment. We also recognize the importance of using a disinfectant to kill germs when needed. Disinfectants are not defined as green or non-toxic because of their very ability to “kill” germs.

High Tech Cleaning in South Florida Science Children Museum with Vital Oxide

General cleaning products may do a nice job shining your glass or cleaning the floors, but they are unable to actually kill germs

These days, new “green” cleaning products are introduced every five minutes, so much so that people are growing leery of the term. Many people are rediscovering some of the basic, original cleaners like baking soda or vinegar that our grandmothers relied upon, and these are great cleaning products for many household uses, but… they do not kill the bacteria required to be considered disinfectants. If you read through our website, you will learn about a breakthrough technology, Vital Oxide. We have designed our product around a chemistry that is unique in all of nature. Effective on a wide range of virus and bacteria, including “super bugs” like MRSA and H1N1, Vital Oxide breaks down to simple table salt and produces no harmful by-products.

When it comes to dealing with the bacteria that can thrive in a child’s nursery, you need a product that will eliminate the bad germs. Learn the ABCs of disinfectants vs. cleaners: Cleaners remove soils, but may still spread germs around, while disinfectants kill germs when used correctly.

Dr. Benjamin Tanner, Ph D, and President of Antimicrobial Test labs, LLC, is an expert on the germy nature of a baby’s room and has some extremely credible advice on how to maintain a germ-free nursery.

Dr. Tanner explains that in a child’s room, there are many germ hot spots. Any common touch point such as a light switch, door knob, drawer handle, etc., should be disinfected daily. The most critical areas are diapers and the millions of germs in them. These germs are easily spread to anything that comes in contact with the baby’s poop. Because germs are invisible to the naked eye, they can be transferred to clean surfaces without our knowledge where they will continue to grow exponentially. Common areas for most bacteria to collect include:

The Changing table

Germ expert, Dr. Tanner says, “The changing table is the place where diaper messes and germs are transferred from the diaper to the baby’s skin and possibly the parent’s hands and surfaces. A dirty diaper has more germs in it than anything else in the nursery.” If possible, clean this area everyday by washing with hot soapy water, rinsing and drying then follow by spraying the area lightly with Vital Oxide to eliminate any germs. And don’t forget the changing pad and diaper pail or waste can. Anytime the contents of the diaper come into contact with another object, it is soiled and should be washed and sprayed thoroughly with Vital Oxide.

The Laundry Hamper

Dr. Tanner confirms that laundry can hold onto a lot of bacteria and spread those bacteria to clean clothing in a normal wash cycle. "A common misconception people have is that detergents kill germs… but detergents don't usually kill germs by themselves. Washing clothes on a normal wash setting is okay when they're lightly soiled, because most germs will simply go down the drain. Even if they do remain on clothing they'll likely be present at sub-ineffective levels. Increasing the temperature of the wash cycle to 140 degrees kills the germs that don't go down the drain. Heavily soiled laundry (especially if soiled with fecal matter) is much different because the quantities of germs on the clothes will be much greater." Adding Vital Oxide to your laundry wash cycle will eliminate the bacteria left behind. It will not remove color from your baby’s delicate materials, but it will eliminate those stinky, poop odors among other things! Use a separate laundry hamper for your baby’s laundry that is heavily soiled so as not to contaminate, wash in a separate load in your clothes washer and remember to spray the hamper with Vital Oxide between loads to eliminate both germs and odors.

The Floor

Your shoes carry germs that are picked up from everywhere you have walked during the day. These germs are then brought into your home and left on the floors but we tend to forget this fact when a baby finds the floor their place to play. Dr. Tanner notes that "most floor germs aren't of the harmful type, but it's still a hot spot to keep an eye on." Vital Oxide can be diluted 5 to 1 to use as a sanitizer on most any floor or carpet, eliminating 99.999% of harmful bacteria.

Children’s Toys

While most toys in the average home are not covered in germs, toys that come into contact with little hands and other playmates are an easy way to pass germs to a child. As we all know, children have the tendency to put everything in their mouths. Take a little time to wash, rinse and dry all washable toys and follow with a light spray of Vital Oxide to kill any remaining germs. Vital Oxide is so safe to use, you can spray it on a child’s toy without rinsing making it a feel good to use product and saving an extra step too.

"As the president of a microbiology testing lab, I see and evaluate new antimicrobial technologies often. After extensive testing, I can comfortably say that Vital Oxide is one of the most exciting new technologies on the market. Its dual-active system cleans well and is effective against a wide variety of pathogens - most importantly, it does the job quickly."

Benjamin D. Tanner, Ph.D., President

Antimicrobial Test Laboratories

Vital Oxide is an EPA registered “hospital” disinfectant, one of the highest ratings for eliminating bacteria, viruses and blood borne pathogens the EPA recognizes. At the same time, it is colorless, odorless, has a neutral ph, is non-caustic and produces no harmful by-products. Vital Oxide completely eliminates a long list of germs on contact along with molds and allergens. It is also a super odor eliminator. But Vital Oxide is also safe enough to be used in food preparation areas without rinsing as certified by the NSF. (Visit NSF.org for credible information on everything from disinfectants to dishwashers!)

There is a lot of work that goes into being a Mom, been there. But Vital Oxide is a product that can safely, clean and disinfect your home where needed, as needed. You won’t always be up to your elbows in diapers, but when you are, we can be there to help! Call or email us anytime.