My son has had several episodes of throwing up the past week. And I’ve had several sheets to clean up as a result. Cleaning up after someone barfs is entirely an unpleasant task. If I could, I’d just throw the soiled items away. But wash them I must.

I loathe to put these things in the washer as they are. Sure, they will probably get clean in there. But I can’t bear the thought of, ahem, large particles in my washer. So, I hang the sheets as they are out in the sun to dry. Dry half-digested food is less unpleasant than goo. Besides, conventional wisdom says that sun will also help to disinfect the sheets.

When the everything is dried out, I take a brush with rubber bristles and brush away the solid stuff. I use an old rubber broom without a handle for this. Only after this will I put the sheets in the washer, and wash them in hot water (and bleach when possible).

Creative Commons image by That Erum Kid on Flickr

Post from: Keeping the Castle