It's Nice to Know I'm Not the Only Germaphobe!

My hubby and kids long ago accepted the fact that I'm a complete germaphobe! Now, without having to be prompted, my family walks in the door and immediately uses antibacterial gel to remove the germs from their hands. Even the neighborhood kids walk in the door and go straight to the counter to get some hand gel! Even so, I still can't stop myself from uttering the same question every day . . . Did you use gel?

That's why I promptly responded yes when Mom Central asked if I was interested in reviewing Heidi Murkoff's "What to Expect Healthy Home Growth Chart." I've always trusted Heidi's What to Expect series, so I knew she'd have good information on how to stop the spread of germs in our home. This supplement to the What to Expect Guide to a Healthy Home provides additional tips to help parents keep their homes clean and healthy, but with the added benefit of breaking them down into manageable steps to take as your child grows from an infant to toddler to school age child. Specifically, Moms can find tips to coincide with the developmental stages children go through, such as:

• Disinfecting hard toys at 3 months
• Baby-proofing the house when they start walking around 1 year
• Removing allergens from stuffed animals for play dates starting at 2 years
• Making hand washing and no-shoes a rule after coming in from playing outside around age 4

While I already do various things to disinfect our home, like wiping the counters, bathroom sinks, phones, doorknobs, remotes and refrigerator handles with antibacterial wipes, I learned more strategies to take to ensure our home is clean and our family stays healthy. For example, I never knew I should close the toilet before flushing because according to Heidi Murkoff, "Water vapor (plus the toilet contents–yes…anything in there) erupts from the toilet like a mini bacteria volcano every time you flush, landing on whatever is nearby (including that toothbrush you left on the sink). Closing the lid before you flush will help prevent you—and your family—from brushing their teeth with toilet water." Ewww! I'm so doing that now!

So I highly recommend you check out the What to Expect Healthy Home Growth Chart to help keep your home clean. It's free, helpful and the information is broken down to coincide with your child's developmental stages. I felt better reading it not only because I got great tips, but because I learned Heidi is a germaphobe too!


I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Clorox and the What to Expect Guide and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.