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by Suzan Chiang, Founder of HappyMomBlogger

Some people say I’m a germaphobe. Well I’m fine with that and I’m not embarrassed to admit it. Without germaphobes in this world the personal and house cleaning industry would be bankrupt. Germaphobes keep the antibacterial hand soaps a popular item and disinfectants a common household word. Germaphobes know the difference between keeping bad germs at bay and keeping good germs within arms distance. Most importantly, germaphobes have a tendancy to really know how to keep themselves clean and their homes clean.

So besides keeping our bathrooms and kitchen clean (for obvious reasons), there is one thing that most of us tend to neglect in the cleaning department. That department is our floors. Our floors in our house is one of the dirtiest areas you can ever imagine. The floors in our house connects us from room to room, therefore it’s essential to keep them clean. But a lot of people clean them only once a week or as needed. And that’s not nearly enough. Let me give you a scenario.

Imagine walking around outside all day, whether at the park, at your work, at school, at the bus station, or at the supermarket. Imagine you are walking at the park and you accidentally stepped on dog poo. And then you’re at the bus station and you stepped on someone’s leftover hot dog. And then you’re at the supermarket parking lot and you step on gum or what looks like gum, but could be anything sticky. Then imagine arriving at home and you walk inside your house, with your shoes on. Now you’ve brought into your lovely home all the stuff you just stepped on and has gathered ceremoniously onto the bottom of your shoes and is at that moment, being tracked all over your carpets, your wood floors, and your tiled floors. And then imagine your kids and your newborn crawling around on the same floors your shoes just smudged all over. Basically, they just got all that gunk that were on the bottom of your shoes onto their hands, clothes, or worse – in their mouths. Kids will be kids after all, and they don’t know about gross stuff underneath the bottom of shoes.

So if you can picture that scenario in your head, wouldn’t you be pretty disgusted by all the stuff that’s left on your floors? And if you only clean your floors once a week, then you’re just adding more dirt, grime, and germs onto the floors. And whatever you track on your floors will get tracked everywhere else in your home. So what can you do at this point? You’ve got a week’s worth or germs on your floors and probably in your bedroom as well. You can do a hard scrubbing at this point, disinfect, and then scrub really hard again. Or, you can take preventative measures in keeping your floors as clean as humanly possible.

What are some of the ways in keeping your floors clean and preventing germs from taking over your house? Here are some suggestions that we use at our home whether you’re a germaphobe or not.

• Remove your shoes before you enter your house. Not only are you tracking in dirt and grime from the outside world, but you could be potentially tracking in dangerous lead from older buildings, certain materials, and dirt.
• If you walk outside barefoot, clean your feet before you enter your house. The same theory applies to shoes as do feet – you’re still tracking in outside dirt and germs.
• Clean your floor with safe, non-toxic cleaning solutions. Good examples are Bona, Bissell, or even making your own solution with vinegar and water (just make sure it’s 1 part vinegar, 2 parts water).
• Maintain a floor-cleaning routine. Clean your floors several times a day, or at best, once a day. Even if you have a huge house and many floors to clean, clean them at least every other day.
• Install non-toxic flooring options such as bamboo or natural wood. Install carpets that are made from non-toxic materials. If it’s not possible, then clean them with a natural solution or baking soda and a good vacuuming every time.

I believe the first 2 points are pretty important because if you can keep your dirty shoes from entering the house, you’re already preventing a lot of common dirt, grime, and germs from entering your home and onto your floors. Germs on your floors are not healthy and if you were to take a UV light used in most crime scenes and wave it on your floors, you’d probably find some pretty gross things. It’s funny, I have a few friends that tell me it’s okay to have germs in your house or on your hands because some germs are “safe”. Well, I can’t argue that certain germs are important to maintain a natural balance, but most germs are dangerous to your immune system. Your immune system is constantly changing and adapting and if you overload it with bad germs, then it’s gonna say to you one day, “hey, give me a break, will ya!”. And what’s ironic is that those same friends who dictate about germs are always getting sick. And I mean they are constantly sick with the cold, flu, or some kind of stomach flu. Hmm, maybe they need to think twice before telling me that germs are okay for you.

As the weather gets colder and we are too cold to clean the entire house, it’s crucial to remember to keep your floors clean at least. If you have little kids then that’s even more important. Kids love playing on the floor, lying on the floor, maybe even eating on the floor, so would you prefer your floors to be as clean as possible for your kids or do you want them to stick in their mouths the partially eaten hot dog that you stepped on the other day? So there you have it – it’s okay to be a little germaphobic when it comes to keeping your floors clean, free of toxins, and safe for your children.

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Want more ideas? Check out Corey’s Green Home Project: The Floors from Corey of Celebrate Green.

Thank you to our Healthy Child Network for these wonderful articles. Interested in joining our network and submitting your blogs to be featured? Sign-up today!

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We have a GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

Congratulations to Ali! She was randomly selected to receive the Bona giveaway. Ali wrote, "Great tips! I do have to disagree about who is always getting sick though! My germaphobic friends are the ones that are actually always getting sick! (maybe it's because they're spending too much time worrying about germs and disinfecting and not enough time eating well and sleeping--the two most important things that actually help keep the immune system strong...not germ avoidance!)" Thanks everyone for participating!

What are your tips and advice to creating and maintaining a healthy and safe flooring in your home? Share your ideas in the comment box below by Wednesday, February 15, 2012 11:59 PM PST for a chance to win a prize package from GREENGUARD certified Bona, A Healthy Child Healthy World Trusted Partner. Valued at $57, the package will include a Bona® Hardwood Floor Mop for all types of residential hardwood floors, Bona® Stone, Tile & Laminate Refill Cartridge, and Bona®Microfiber Cleaning Pad to attract dirt, microparticles, and common household allergens. 

For an extra chance to win, sign up for our weekly newsletter and leave a comment saying you did so! We will announce the winner here on Thursday, February 16, 2012.

Eligibility Statement: Contest open to U.S. residents. Employees of Bona and Healthy Child Healthy World and their families are not eligible. Entry into the contest is premised on the leaving of a comment and eligibility is not conditioned on the payment of consideration.

Legal Disclaimer: Bona is a Trusted Partner of Healthy Child Healthy World, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring a movement to protect children from harmful chemicals. Trusted Partners are companies that offer superior products that meet Healthy Child Healthy World's high Quality Standards, demonstrate a long-term commitment to their mission by joining their Trusted Partnership program, and contribute financially to the organization.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.

Photo courtesy bionicteaching / CC BY 2.0 and Bona

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