Pete almost never gets sick. In fact, he’s gotten sick three times in the seven years I’ve known him. Of course, one of those times was earlier in the winter when he caught the flu. The flu has been so incredibly devastating this year, so if it hits your home, you really need to do your due diligence so not everyone gets sick. While I was cleaning up after our flu outbreak, I started taking notes so I could put together a great free printable checklist of what to clean after the flu.
You’ll want to stock up on a few supplies: disinfecting spray, paper towels, toilet bowl cleaner, disinfecting wipes, and laundry detergent. All these will help in cleaning and sanitizing your house.
What To Clean After The Flu
Bedroom
When someone in your home has the flu, they’re probably going to be spending a lot of time in bed. All a person wants to do is sleep. And rest is so important. But that means leaving a lot of germs behind in that bedding and pajamas. So, as soon as the flu is gone, be sure to wash sheets, pillow cases, blankets, pillows, and pajamas. If you have a mattress pad, wash that as well. Wash these in the hottest water that the material allows.
Wipe down any surfaces (such as night stands where used tissues may have touched) with a disinfectant spray. To do so, wet the surface with the spray and leave it for ten minutes, allowing it to aid dry. That makes it easy because you can just move on to clean the next surface instead of waiting to rinse or wipe it down.
Be sure to change any garbage bags that held things like tissues. Clean and disinfect any garbage pails as well.
And, if you close your bedroom door, be sure to disinfect the doorknobs. Keep in mind this may also mean you want to clean any doorknobs on closets and any drawer handles that may have been touched. Also, be sure to clean any light switches.
Bathroom
When you have the flu, you spend a lot of time in the bathroom as well. It’s not glamorous, but it’s reality. You’ll want to use disinfecting wipes and toilet bowl cleaner to clean the toilet bowl. And don’t forget to clean the flusher as well. Plus, be sure to clean the floor around the bowl as well.
You also want to use disinfecting spray on the countertops in the bathroom. Use it to wipe down the sink and it’s handles, plus doorknobs.
Whenever I get sick, my rule of thumb is to throw out my toothbrush and open a new one. This is really good to keep in mind when you have the flu.
And, if the person who had the flu took a shower, clean that down as well, making sure to wash and disinfect the shower’s floor.
You also want to wash any towels, including bath and hand towels. And wipe down the light switches in this room as well.
Kitchen
When Pete started getting sick, I made sure to cook anything he wanted to eat and I would get fluids for him too. When he started to feel better, though, he ventured downstairs to the kitchen himself. That was great for him, but not for cleaning. When you are cleaning after the flu, be sure to clean all cabinet handles, including the handle on the fridge, and all countertops.
And, you guessed it, light switches in this room need to be wiped down.
Living Room
By days two and three of the flu, you start feeling a little better and may make the move from laying in bed to laying on the couch. That’s great … except it does lead to another room to clean.
If you have any blankets or pillows, those will need to be washed. So will any surfaces, like coffee tables. And if you have a garage pail in that room, clean it as well. And then, as with every other room, light switches.
If someone has been watching TV too, be sure to wipe down any remote controls, laptops (we hook one into our TV), etc.
Also, not specific to one room, but be sure to open your windows to air out your home. You’ll also want to spray the disinfectant spray throughout your home as well.
Now, to make your life easier, be sure to right-click the image above and save it to your computer. You can then print it when you need it. It’s formatted to fit an 8.5×11 sheet of paper, so you can print at home. As you clean things, you can just check off the boxes. Every time your family comes down with the flu (which, unfortunately, can happen many times), you can just print out a new cleaning list.
What is on your list of what to clean after the flu?
Chas
Saturday 24th of March 2018
Great article and very helpful information. Thank goodness the nice weather is coming! Thanks for sharing on To Grandma's House We Go!
angie
Saturday 24th of March 2018
with so much flu going around this year most of us have been cleaning this list will keep us organized thanks for sharing.