How to Clean Up Vomit
Great subject, right? Well, since I’ve been doing a lot of this in the past week, I thought I’d share some techniques with you. Nathaniel got hit with the stomach bug, then me, then Gabriel. Johnny feels like a hunted man today since he’s the only one left.
A few years ago, Parents magazine (the September 2006 issue to be exact) printed an article about how to do all sorts of different things. One of those things was “How to Clean Up Throw-Up”. I tore it out for safe keeping because I knew the information would be invaluable at some point in my life. So here is what they said, along with my own helpful pointers - from experience, of course.
- First, use a paper towel to lift away any solid remains. For hard surfaces, cat litter works to soak up what’s left so that it can be scooped up and thrown away. You don’t have a kitty? Sprinkle baking soda or cornstarch on the affected area to absorb the throw-up (and the odor.) Make sure to do the baking soda thing. I did it one day, and forgot to do it a different day. It really does make a difference in SMELL!
- For carpeting and rugs, consider investing in dry-cleaning fluid (do a test run to make sure it won’t bleach out the color.) After cleaning up the vomit, pour the fluid over the stain. Blot with a dry, white cloth. Rewet the stain with a squirt of mild liquid detergent, then blot again with the cloth. Flood the stain with water and blot, repeating until there’s no soap residue. I have never tried the dry-cleaning fluid, but I do have this Woolite POD
, and it works great!! In fact, I need to go buy another one. I used mine up this past week.
- If your child vomits on a wood floor, use a pH-neutral cleaner or a solution of white vinegar and warm water. If you’re cleaning a mattress, car seat, or the living-room couch, sponge the stain with cool water, then cover the spot with baking soda and allow to dry, then vacuum. We have wood floor in a large part of our home, and my white vinegar did the trick again! But I will admit, there was a crazy weird fume when I cleaned up the puke with the vinegar. My floor is still good, though!
While I hope this information will help you, I hope you don’t have to use it anytime soon. Stomach bugs are NO fun!
How come no graphic this time? A no brainer that you didn’t mention is make sure and put your gloves on! I also usually us my sponge mop to do a lot of the scrubing on the floor (carpet)so that I don’t have as much contact with the vomit.
Well I know how Johnny feels. I seem to be the one who doesn’t really get sick and vomit. Growing up in my family of 9 people it always seemed like one person would catch it and them it would go through everybody (minus me) similar to what happened to you guys. But, being that there were so many people by the time it was over a few people got sick a second time. Crazy!! Anyways, hopefully we’ll avoid it this year, not likely, Zach tends to get it every year. I just don’t know if Abigail will be like me and have an abnormal immune system, or like her daddy. Probably the latter, she seems to have “caught” a lot of his genes.
Oh my goodness I could barely read this! I have such a weak stomach!