6 Ways To Safely Keep Your Home Clean While Pregnant

Wouldn’t it be great if all your chores vanished when your pregnancy test came out positive? Unfortunately, pregnancy doesn’t render you incapable of doing chores like keeping your home clean. But, you will have to abide by some new housekeeping rules.

Avoid Fumes

Instead of using harsh, abrasive chemicals, use green cleaning products as this will protect you and your baby. So check every label to make sure that you’re not buying toxic products that contain risky solvents.

For example, window and oven cleaning products often contain glycol ethers, a substance known to increase the risk of miscarriage. Most mildew removers also contain large amounts of phenols, which are known to increase the risk of fetal death or birth defects.

Furthermore, while expectant, avoid cleaners that have a strong smell of chlorine or ammonia. Although they may not harm your baby, they can make you nauseous.

When cleaning, keep your windows open, use natural cleansers and wear gloves. Fortunately, you can make some of the cleaning products at home. For instance, baking soda can clean your bathtubs and ovens, while a solution of vinegar and water can work wonders on countertops and glass.

Stay Away From Kitty Litter

Most doctors advise pregnant women to not change cat litter. This is because the litter increases the risk of contracting toxoplasmosis. Although there are many other ways of contracting the disease, cats are known to be the common carriers of toxoplasmosis infection.

Toxoplasmosis is a mild infection characterized by flu-like symptoms. Most adults have the infection but don’t know about it. If you were infected with the infection before getting pregnant, you may have already developed immunity to it. The infection poses a great danger to your baby if you have an active infection while pregnant.

Since cats are the common carriers of toxoplasmosis, changing their litter may expose you to the disease-causing parasite. So, if you have a cat:

• Don’t change their litter and if you must, put on gloves and a mask, and remember to wash your hand with soap and water afterward.
• Feed your furry friend dry or canned cat food because raw meat may contain the parasites that cause toxoplasmosis.
• Keep your cat indoors
• Don’t take in a new or stray cat
• Always wash your hands with soap and water after handling your cat.

Watch Your Back

Initially, you may not have any problem, but as you progress your back will start aching. After about four months, your center of gravity will change and doing some lifting will be difficult. So take care of your back now by getting cleaning equipment that has extendable handles or doesn’t need a lot of energy to carry or move. For instance, you can get an electric broom from electricbroom.com.

Exhaustion Days

The first and third trimesters are usually marked by intense moments of exhaustion. If you can’t hire a professional cleaning service, then alter your cleaning schedule. For example, if you used to do a deep cleaning once a week, then you may have to reduce the number of chores to one per day.

Also, try cleaning in 15 minutes segments, preferably one in the morning, and the other segment later. This can help you reorganize your home cleaning strategy. You can change it once your baby arrives.

Watch Your Belly

At something point in your pregnancy, the belly will get in the way. So, if you’re shopping for laundry baskets, pick the ones that are easy to carry, like those rounded on the sides. And as you clean, please stay away from small spaces that you can barely fit. You don’t want to get stuck!

When cleaning, look out for bumps. You can easily bump into a corner with your belly. Although it may not hurt your baby, you may get a bruise. So avoid carrying things to put away while cleaning.

Get Help

Keeping your home clean while pregnant isn’t a walk in the park. You have a lot to think about, and a lot of changes going on. And since fatigue in pregnancy is something common, don’t be afraid of asking for help. Sometimes, you may not even feel like cleaning or your body will not want to be near any cleaning product.

If you feel that way, please ask for help. Get a professional cleaning service to come and take care of your home. Cleaning services can even do one cleaning or your entire home, depending on the size of your pocket.

Cleaning your home while pregnant can be overwhelming. With these tips, you can be sure of keeping your home clean without hurting yourself or the baby.