Tell Fairy Non Bio your experience of keeping clean with a baby - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

As part of our partnership with Fairy Non Bio, we’ve produced the Mumsnet Babies Podcast. There are ten episodes in the series, and so far we’ve released five. Episode five is about keeping clean, and you can listen to it here. Fairy Non Bio would like you to listen to the podcast whenever you can and then discuss your thoughts and experiences of keeping clean with a new baby.

Cleanliness is something that can be easy to worry about with a tiny new baby: from keeping them safe from external germs, to dealing with their own. Have you found that you’ve become too attached to antibacterial hand gel, or worried about all the things they could catch? And, with some dirt being important for developing an immune system, what did you decide was clean enough for your baby?

Of course, baby’s also produce a lot of germs - perhaps you have tips for dealing with baby poo where it shouldn’t be? Or any advice for a cleaner feeding time? And, in terms of your baby’s personal hygiene, do you find that they need to be bathed every evening? Or do you bathe them less often to ease skin conditions like eczema?

Perhaps things have changed as your LO has gotten older? Do you worry more about keeping your house clean once they’re crawling? What level of home cleanliness do you consider acceptable? Do you have advice on making your home look cleaner than it maybe is for visitors?

Whatever your experience with keeping clean and a new baby, share this below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

I think I over cleaned when I had my dd. Every surface was constantly wiped and disinfected. Then as she grew I started to relax and realise she wasn't going to get sick that easily and actually some germs are important! Precious first and all that I guess

Nowadays I'm more concerned about chemicals - I've realised spraying and using so many cleaning products can impact health. So I don't over clean anything nowadays. I use baby wipes for cleaning but I don't always use a cleaning spray now unless absolutely necessary (e.g. for food related things like meat) I do like to clean my kitchen surfaces thoroughly too - that's a must! As is the bathroom. I'm relaxed about everything else. A vacuum and some baby wipes to get the sticky fingers off is the only thing I do daily in the other rooms, because I have a messy 2 year old!

I feel the same about handwash. Those chemicals are absorbed into the body through the skin and can mess with the endocrine system. I wash hands when necessary - after toilet/nappy changing events and handling certain foods. I don't obsessively scrub my hands sore all day with chemicals anymore.

I've been looking into gentler and more natural cleaning products that are within price range. Especially for clothes. Soap powders have always been harsh on my skin and there really are some vile ones out there! For now I have been opting for gentler ones and using less - unless things are caked in mud I don't feel like you need that much soap powder in every wash! Those chemicals stay on the clothes then go on the skin and into the body, messing with hormones in the long run.

My best tip would be that I strip my dd when she's eating messy meals (spag bol anyone?) it is so much easier to quickly wipe her face and belly afterwards than it is to get stains out of her dresses.

I think that people stress to much about germs. We have big dogs and people worried about my daughter being around them. She hugs them and they give kisses and she is healthy as a horse. I just focused on the main things like hand washing before eating and asking people with colds not to stop round ect. Xx

I think I was better when they were smaller! Babies are easy to keep clean unless they are vomitters or are weaning! Now my three year old seems to always been covered in something and my standards have had to slip as I can't keep the eldest or youngest clean. Thankfully middle child is on my wavelength. We often clean the house together!

Over cleanliness isn't good for the immune system

Clean high chair straight after eating, so food wouldn't get dry and difficult to clean.

I'm much less worried with my third child. Chilled about dirt etc but general cleaniness.

Baths every second or third day depending on poo activities.

At the start I was quite neurotic about cleanliness, but as she has got older and has tried eating grass, and dried cat biscuits I'm less than concerned - she is happy and healthy!

with my first child I bathed him daily and the least bit of dirt I changed him from head to toe but now with 3 kids I tend to allow more and it hasn't harmed any of them

Very anal in the first year about making sure everything is wiped and remains clean to be on the safe side. Lessened after the first year but the anti bac wipes still get a lot of use.

Always used Fairy non-bio for washing as eczema in the family. Definitely washed the floor daily when the children started crawling - this doesn't happen normally!

Always be vigilant when potty training. The puddles you find on the carpet ARE what you fear them to be ! Keep carpet cleaner and kitchen roll at the ready.

I always thought that if it was not visibly dirty it's ok. Mine were always bathed once a day, but I never bothered with anti-bac sprays or gels, and neither of them ever get ill.

I am always cleaning! I have a house full of kids and they seem to have a few grotty habits sometimes! I make sure the floors are mopped with bleach regularly to keep them clean and germ free and I'm always wiping down the kitchen counter with Dettol Power and Pure spray as it kills all the germs. I make sure the toilets are cleaned every day and I also spray the seat and the toilet handle, light pull and sink with Dettol Bathroom cleaner. Kids toileting habits aren't always the best so I think it helps stop them getting nasty germs and spreading them. If we ever catch a sickness bug from the school then I go into over-drive spraying surfaces especially bathrooms, door handles and stair rails to try to get rid of the germs out the house asap as occasionally some bugs can be stubborn.
When I do the laundry, I don't use the lowest temp of 30C as I believe I need a minimum of 40C to get out all the dirt and kill most germs - I also put a couple of capfuls of Sainsbury's Basics disinfectant in with every wash load. All towels I do on a 50 min wash at 60C as the kids always leave them on the bathroom floor near the toilet and they also go kayaking on the local canal which is not the cleanest.
I'm not actually paranoid as I think some germs are healthy and good for the immune system and the kids spend a long time getting filthy in the garden, but when you have a larger family, you have to keep on top of the cleaning all the time to keep the place clean and hygenic for everyone and I'm extra vigilant keeping things nice if there is a toddler or crawling baby!

We bathed ours daily and went through packs and packs of wipes also!

I'm a new mum again after 12 years . I keep alcohol rub by changing station, bathe babykins every alternate day and sponge down every day. I try to get as much cleaning done around the house first thing in the morning after first feed while my angel sleeps
However, I am worried about playing outside when the time comes. my son no.1 was diagnosed with ocular toxocara, a parasite that causes (or can cause) partial blindness in one eye. It can be picked up from cat, dog or fox poo residue. Kids are more prone to get the parasite as they play a lot outside. My son's was picked up at a routine eye test, then referred to hospital where he had to get all sort of tests eg. MRIscan, blood tests, stool samples etc. it was terrifying. It is so rare they had to be sure. He now has to attend the eye hospital every year and has a black spot in his vision that will never go away. It is very important that kids wash their hand if gardening or playing around mud or grassy areas and keep fingers away from mouth. My son bites his nails which I am always shouting at him for possibly how he got it in the first place or the countless times I had to clean dogs dirt from his shoe's when lazy dog owners don't bother picking it up in children's play area's . My first born is 13 now and I will never be sure how long ago this happened. be safe kiddies

Baby wipes are a must

I was totally paranoid with my first child about keeping everything scrupulously clean. I bought tonnes of antibacterial wipes, cleaned every surface with them and made everyone wash their hands before holding her. Feeding times (she was bottle fed) were a feat in itself- bottles and surfaces sterilised and dummies. Despite all this she still caught every bug going- particularly when I had to leave her in a nursery to go back to work. With my second I was much more relaxed. I couldn't have everywhere sanitised - simply didn't have the time with a toddler already running around. I had a more common sense approach- made sure the danger areas like chopping boards, high chair feeding trays and poo filled clothing (!) were properly cleaned.I breastfed so less faff with bottles being sterilised and surprisingly my second seems to have a much stronger immune system! She is hardly ever ill!
It is important to up your cleaning routine with a newborn and particularly when they are crawling and beginning to feed themselves (those anti-bac wipes again are great for all surfaces as a quick fix) but keep it in perspective. They need some exposure to germs to get their immune system working so accept that you can't sanitise their world and you haven't failed as a parent if your child gets sick.
I used to do a quick "flannel" wash each day when my two were baby/toddlers then bathe them about 3 times a week or more if they'd been eating something particularly messy and had it stuck in their hair! I think it helped my eldest not to be bathed as often as she had eczema and Health visitor advised us to keep her as moisturised as possible so bathing daily would've been counterproductive.
It is a cliché but they are not babies for long so we should spend our time enjoying them and not waste it cleaning.

Damp cloth with a small spray on the cloth for the worktops and a flannel for the face, never used wipes on their faces since my daughter had a bad reaction

Always have a pack of wet wipes with you wherever you go!
We bath our babies once a day which gets them smelling lovely before bed! Xxx

Ahh, I remember the days of having a new born... I was absolutely terrified at the prospect of germs getting anywhere near my DS! I made anyone who wanted to hold him squirt up on anti bacterial gel! I have definitely become more relaxed as he has got older though. Of course I think cleaning is important, as if you become to lax and there are 'hidden' areas in your house where mould can potentially develop, then I don't think that's good for anyone's health, especially dear little ones! but a reasonable balance has to be struck, so keep your house clean, but don't get to obsessive about it, you can't keep every germ out... and doing so, would not benefit children in the longer run.
In terms of keeping little ones clean, I think good old muslin clothes are a god send. I never did a feed without one, as I think milk getting into their teeny little chins causes irritation. My DS has dry skin so he has a bath every 2 nights, and washes in between. It keeps him clean but doesn't dry his skin out.

I never use biological products or fabric conditioner when washing clothes as the chemicals can irritate the skin.

I am very concerned about the environment, the oceans and wildlife so I try not to use too many chemicals or disposable wipes, but use natural products for cleaning such as white vinegar.

Keeping up with hygiene in house and around baby is important as long as not making you obsessed about cleanliness. I would normally do what's need to be done. Less stuff in room helps me to keep all neat and tidy and clean more frequently. I would use antibacterial spray and wipes on my little one toys and eating area but mostly I'm washing with organic washing liquid. Too many chemical products can do more harm so I'm choosing carefully what to use to clean and wash.

Sensitive baby wipes, usually bought in bulk. I have secret stashes of each in the bathroom, kitchen drawers, lounge, my handbag, both cars and at close relatives' houses! I also use antibac wipes for beyond the 3 second rule moments. Always wash the nappy changing mat with Zoflora.

I use baby wipes religiously x