The smell of vomit can be very persistent, and difficult to get rid off. Besides, your toddler may often vomit or bring up small portions of undigested milk. This can stain her/his clothes, bedclothes and also the couch or carpet. Masking the smell with air fresheners does not really help, because the effect is temporary.
• There are many commercial cleaning agents in the stores. You may find them especially at pet stores. These cleaning agents absorb the smell and also remove any stains. But their greatest drawback is that they often contain strong chemicals which may prove harmful to baby in the long run.
• Soap and water is often the best way to get the smell of vomit out. The trick is to tackle the situation immediately and not wait for hours before cleaning it. This happens especially at night. If baby vomits at night, many of us are tempted to ball up the garment or clothes on which baby has vomited and keep it in a corner of the bathroom until morning. The smell only becomes worse. It would be best to wash it immediately with soap and warm water.
• Tackle the root of the problem. Many of us tend to gather up the vomit in the garment and toss everything into the washing machine. It would be better to scrub and rinse the vomit off the garment separately with warm running water, before tossing into the washing machine. Also, do not mix other clothes which have no vomit on them.
• Baking powder is very helpful in absorbing bad odors. You can apply a paste of baking powder with a little water, on the affected area, or sprinkle a generous amount of baking powder (if the area is large). Leave it for an hour, before washing off with soap and water, or tossing into the washing machine.
• A mixture of white vinegar and water is also effective. Soak the garment in it for an hour, before washing.
• Ammonia has a similar effect, and is stronger than baking soda. If the smell of vomit is very persistent, take a few drops of ammonia cleaner, and scrub the trouble spots on the garment with it. This will kill the noxious smell of vomit.
• Place a few charcoal briquettes (the type you use for barbecues) in a corner of the room. This helps to absorb bad smells.
While your toddler may vomit occasionally, you can reduce the incidence by taking a few simple preventive steps. Always make sure that your burp your baby after a feed of milk. Most babies take in air, while drinking milk. If they drink more milk on top of this air bubble, the gas tries to escape later, and brings up some milk too in the process.
Submitted by P T on May 6, 2010 at 01:47
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