How To Clean Pillows After Being Sick

Last updated: March 12, 2020

How appropriate a blog topic. Let me break down what this past week has been like for us here at Clean My Space headquarters…

On Monday morning, Chad woke up with a bad cold and because Chad is a giant baby, he proceeded to spend the next 2 days in bed and wallow in his sickness. What's worse, halfway through Chad's sickness I got sick with the same thing and ended up bedridden for a whole day myself! And, while it was a great opportunity to spend quality time with my darling husband, being sick sucks, and I'm happy to announce that we're both back to 100% health.

However, there is indeed now a layer of nasty sickness residue all over my home, so today, because many of you have asked—but more so, because my house really needs it right now—I'm going to talk about my post cold and flu cleaning routine!

1. Bedding

When you are sick, you tend to sweat a lot while sleeping. So, if you can, try to place an extra sheet under your fitted sheet to absorb extra sweat from the sick person, it's just a kind thing to do for your mattress. You can also consider placing a pillow protector on your pillow when sick too—same idea.

When the sickness is gone, strip the bed, wash the bedding and replace. If you can, leave the mattress stripped for a while to air out. If there's any blood, vomit or other undesirable stuff on the linens, pre-soak in oxygen bleach powder or a trusted stain remover before washing. If possible, wash everything with hot water to kill bacteria (if the sheets allow it).

2. Points of contact

Check out our in-depth video and post on cleaning points of contact.

I was using my laptop, TV remote, door knobs and light switch plates. So, cleaning those points of contact once the cold has passed is a great thing to do. This also includes any phones that were used. This is so utterly crucial!

3. Air out the house

Now, seeing that it is the middle of a frigid Canadian winter here, opening the windows to let a cross breeze through is not an overly appealing idea but it still does work wonders to move some fresh air through your home for a bit. It replaces that old stale air and for whatever reason fresh air makes me feel more energized which is an added bonus.

4. Bathrooms

This is where it all comes out—and that's a good thing—but, this sacred space does need a sanitizing treatment after you have been sick, in it. There are several places that need to be tended to in the bathroom. If you use hand towels, they need to be washed, stat. Also, throw any housecoats or bath towels in the wash while you're at it. Remember to wash on the hottest cycle possible! Next, give all surfaces a nice disinfecting wipe down, focussing on toilets and countertops. Soak your toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide for 30 minutes to kill any bacteria lurking there, and finally, wipe down those garbage cans. You can clean and disinfect using a mixture of 1 part water to 1 part rubbing alcohol, or water and 10 drops of tea tree oil, and even 1 part water to 1 part full-strength vinegar.

5. Kitchen

Even though the kitchen may not be a popular place when you're sick, it still gets used. So, take a moment to give a good disinfecting wipe down of the counters and key points of contact like the fridge handle, the faucet, and cupboard and drawer handles! Clean any dishware used by the sick person(s) in the dishwasher, and also give the garbage cans a good wipe down and replace the garbage bag, as needed.

6. Sick clothing

When I'm sick I break out the oldest pajamas I can find. I don't know why I just do—please don't judge! Regardless, these items have an important place in my wardrobe and have lasted me years and have come in really handy while being sick. So, when I'm done being sick I wash everything I wore in really hot water (assuming the garment allows that). If they have to be washed in cold water, consider adding 10 drops of a disinfecting essential oil to your wash (lavender, tea tree oil, etc.).

Here's another handy tip for you which you can use while you're dealing with your sickness; keep used tissues in one place by putting an empty tissue box beside the one that you're using and keep it there with a couple of rubber bands. This keeps the tissue dispenser in close proximity to the tissue disposal!

Here's to a speedy recovery!

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