Advice on cleaning products for elderly mother for incontinence

[ibar14]

Hi,
I am a carer for my disabled mother and would like some help/advice on product recommendations.
I am struggling to keep on top of the cleanliness for her and also the house/ bedsheets/clothes.
Do you people have tips for good cleaning products for the house to reduce the smell of incontinence? and for washing bedsheets and clothes when acidents happen? Whatever I use, still leaves an odor.
It is sometimes difficult to get her to wash, and if I try to do it myself for her ( and do a thorough job) she gets upset and hurt (embarrased). It is a struggle to wash her hair- does anyone have any tips or recommmendations from experience? And washing her body when she is sat in a commode is difficult and not achieving the best wash.
Any recommendations or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much.

My Mum used to refuse personal care for weeks on end when she lived in her own home. I understand how difficult and frustrating it is.

Some ideas, I appreciate you might use these already. A perching stool is useful and you can help her have a strip wash. Would your Mum prefer a mobile hairdresser to pop in weekly if finances allow?

Age Uk can point you in the direction of many services.

Does your Mum have a SW with adult social care?

You can request to have a care assessment with ASC where they will also assess any support you might need as well as your mum and organise things like the perching stool or raised toilet seat etc.

Inco sheets ( like mats for puppies) are good to put down on chairs and also on top of bed sheets. Followed by a Kylie protector on top of that. This can save the sheet. Doesn't always, but will cut down on washing. They are very heavy duty.

A more perfumed washing powder can help. Air the bedroom in the morning also.

Simple solution, its an enzyme cleaner aimed at pets but works brilliantly. I get the aldi knock off Zflora antibacterial liquid and put a good glug of that is the washing machine too, smells lovely and I know everything is clean

We used shampoo caps in a similar situation re the personal care they are so much easier than trying to do a proper hair wash and surprisingly effective you just microwave them to warm them up they were really easy to use. Can do them in bed or chair etc

For day to day washing a body wipe was again surprisingly effective and also antibacterial the brand was Freshwipes

Rinse free sponges also good and effective I think they were called Scrubz

All three things we bought off Amazon. It's not an easy situation to be in but
These three things were really helpful as it meant we weren't trying to get my D Dad into the bathroom or having to use bowls of water which inevitably ment getting the bed or chair wet

Pet urine enzyme stuff works wonders
I know you can get it as a carpet shampoo and a spray for upholstery. There must be one for adding to washing machine.

my late father we removed all his pants from his drawers after too many accidents and simply replaced them with incontinence pants. He had dementia and by then couldn’t be reasoned with regularly, and his amazing carer said it’s time and cleared them out. I think she took the blame but said he didn’t complain after the first day. She did have to keep fishing them out of the laundry basket as he couldn’t get out of the habit of flinging them in there.

but if she’s not willing to accept that yet, replace with heavy flow period pants which would keep the worst off clothes and furniture. M&S do good ones.

Have you had a care assessment - to support you?

For hair washing and showering, have you looked at Nilaqua?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=nilaqua&crid=3P7PQ96I6K8GO&sprefix=nilaqua%2Caps%2C124&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Are you using biological washing powder/liquid for sheets etc? That should remove the smell. As others have said, also try Kylie sheets.

Thank you very much for all the advice and helpful product recommendations. Really useful and reassuring!

Thank you for taking the time x

My granny used to use bags which had a strip that dissolved in the wash. I'm not totally sure how they worked but they might be worth considering.

Another recommendation for hair washing caps and also large full body wipes which can also be heated, you can get both from Amazon. A laundry cleanser alongside your bio washing detergent ( dettol do one ) in with her bedding on a hot wash and don’t overfill the machine . Have you got decent pads ? They make all the difference , if finances allow, get the ones with the sticky tabs like a giant nappy and if in between sizes get the bigger ones, in fact get the bigger ones anyway. When you change her give her a good wash down, chances are it’s her / her skin that smells as much as soft furnishings bedding etc. also don’t try and wash her completely naked, top and bottom separately, any bare skin you are not washing make sure is covered by a towel will help her feel less vulnerable. When she is sitting in the commode could you try and pour a small jug of warm soapy water between her legs? Then rinse and get her to dry with a towel. I also never said wash or shower, always shall we freshen up and get ready. There may be a phrase she is happier with that is more of a euphemism. Anyway best luck op.

Also don’t forget to give her mattress protector a good wash as well . And are you using blankets and sheets instead of a quilt ? Might be easier .

Would she be less embarrassed with professional caseworkers perhaps?
People often find it hard to accept personal care from family members.
Have you had input from the local continence service run by district nurses
Usually accessible via GP.
Also contact your local Carers Centre. Sometimes called Princess Royal centres.
Gompels are a good company for supplying products.
All the best.

Careworkers is what I wrote
not caseworkers.
Naughty autocorrect.

Another thing we used which I have just remembered is the big puppy pads on the mattress instead of a usual mattress protector so much easier to just bin them rather than constantly washing a mattress protector

We did need to use a few at a time to get the coverage and overlap them a bit

Ask for cleaning products for continence care from gp on prescription, sprays and spray wash foams can be prescribed xx or continence team, if she is incontinence get a referral dont pay