The girls never eat food that’s hit the floor, it goes in the bin
Sarah Lamont, 32, is a restaurant supervisor who lives in Kinross, Scotland, with husband Dale, 34, a site manager, and their daughters Ellie, 10, and five-year-old Holly.
I don’t own a dishcloth. They are absolutely full of germs, so why on earth would I spread one around my house? I spray my surfaces with Zoflora antibacterial spray which kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, then wipe them with kitchen paper, which is then binned.
All my dishes and pots and pans are put in the dishwasher at a cycle which washes them at a 90 degree temperature to really blitz any dirt.
We all wash our hands with Carex antibacterial soap before we eat anything, even a little snack. And I put little bottles of hand sanitiser in my girls’ pockets so they’re always clean.
At meal times, like all young kids, my girls drop bits of food – once it’s hit the floor, it’s whisked straight into the bin. Sometimes that causes a tantrum, but I’d rather deal with that than illness. My laundry basket’s rarely empty because even if clothes have been worn for an hour and get dirty, they’re bunged in the wash.
And since Ellie and Holly are always playing outside, that means doing three or four loads a day. But at least I know they’re as clean as can be. I’d never dream of hanging anything up in the wardrobe that wasn’t freshly laundered. Even my girls’ pyjamas are washed every morning because I like to know they have a clean pair each night, although I remember having fresh nightwear only every three or four nights as a child.
All our bedding is washed every Friday and our towels every second day. It isn’t enough just to have washing detergent and softener in the machine, so I also add a laundry cleaner to kill any bacteria.
Once a month I use a washing machine cleaner on a high temperature to keep my machine germ-free.
And although I know I wasn’t showered every night as a child, Ellie and Holly have a shower and hair wash every evening. The bathrooms are scrubbed every night.
Our labrador Roxy also creates a lot more housework as I vacuum and wash the dog’s blankets every day. I did a lot of research before we adopted Roxy, and found that having a dog in the home is good for strengthening children’s immune systems.
So do I think our kids are too clean? There seem to be more sickness bugs than I ever remember as a child, but Ellie and Holly are rarely sick – so I must be doing something right.