National Cleaning Week is March 26 through April 2. As a family caregiver, this is the ideal opportunity for you to evaluate the cleaning efforts that you and your aging parent use to keep their home fresh, clean, and healthy, and make meaningful changes to improve their home environment. Keeping their home at its best is an important part of supporting their physical health and well-being, as well as their mental and emotional health. Including cleaning in their regular routine is also a fantastic way to support your parent’s feelings of independence and autonomy, encourage more active and engagement, and stimulate their mind on a daily basis.
All areas of your aging parent’s home should be cleaned regularly to protect against illness and infection, reduce risk of injury, and create an environment that is comfortable and welcoming, but there are some areas that are more pressing than others. One such room is the bathroom. The bathroom often harbors germs that can increase the chance of illness and infection, and also tends to have water and products that can create slippery conditions. Cleaning this room thoroughly and regularly is vital to make this room healthier and safer so your parent can take care of their personal needs properly.
Use these tips to keep your parent’s bathroom fresh and clean:
- Keep air circulating. If there is a fan in your parent’s bathroom, make sure that it is used each time that your parent takes a bath or shower. This will help to promote evaporation of the moisture in the room so that it will not promote the growth of mold or mildew.
- Remove oily bath products promptly. If your senior uses bath products that contain oils, such as bath oils, bath beads, in-shower lotions, or moisturizing gels and shampoos, these can leave a residue in the bathtub that is not only potentially dangerous but can leave an unsightly ring. Reduce both issues by cleaning away this residue promptly. Use a mildly abrasive cleaner to cut through the residue and remove it completely.
- Freshen the showerhead. Soap scum and buildup can reduce water pressure and leave a drying, irritating residue on your parent’s skin. Clean the showerhead effectively without using harsh chemicals by filling a plastic bag with vinegar, fitting it over the showerhead until it is fully submerged, and secure in place with a rubber band. Leave this in place overnight and then scrub with a toothbrush, rinse thoroughly, and use normally.
If you have been looking for ways to improve your parent’s quality of life and enhance their later years, now may be the ideal time for you to consider starting home care for them. Whether your senior needs extensive care and assistance, or would simply benefit from extra companionship and diversification of care and social engagement, an in-home senior care services provider can be exactly what they need. By creating a highly personalized approach to care, support, assistance, and encouragement, this care provider can help your loved one manage their individual needs, challenges, and limitations in the way that is right for them, while also helping them to pursue an active, engaged, fulfilling, and independent quality of life. When it comes to helping them keep their home fresh, clean, and healthy, this care provider can help your parent come up with a routine, choose cleaning techniques that work for your parent’s home and abilities, and helping them to modify cleaning tasks so that your parent can enjoy a clean, healthy home and get the sense of accomplishment of knowing that they are taking proper care of their home. By helping your parent keep their home cleaner and fresher, a care provider can also free up time and energy for your loved one so that they can enjoy a more satisfying lifestyle as they age in place.
If you or an aging loved one are considering home care in Tustin, CA, please contact the caring staff at Canaan Home Care today! 1-844-CANAAN-1 (1-844-226-2261)
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