Safety First: How to Clean Dishes After Mice

It is a horrifying sight to go to your kitchen one night, and you see mice feasting in your dishes. You know you have to clean dishes right there and then because you know that you might catch a disease if you do not do it, and you do not want that to happen.

How do you clean dishes after mice infestation?

Clean dishes after mice with a mix of 1 part bleach with 10 parts water. Do not forget to wear gloves, masks, and aprons for body protection. Thoroughly clean your kitchen with sponge and brushes. Discard all garbage and make sure to wash your hands after cleaning.

Consider reading the following steps to guide you on how to meticulously clean your kitchen and utensils after you see mice droppings.

Before Cleaning Procedures

Set up mousetraps

Before you move on to cleaning and disinfecting your place, the first step is to eradicate those mice first. They are the main culprit of those mouse droppings, so your first goal must be to eliminate them.

You need to set up traps in strategic locations where there is enough mice activity. This way, your trapping experience will be successful.

Trapping should be done so that you will be assured that your place will be free from recontamination once you started disinfecting.

If you are the type of person, who can’t harm a living animal, check my review on most humane mousetraps here.

Seal all entryways

Look for holes and sidewalls where mice can pass through. Look for any entry points where they could pass on or chew on.

Then seal them with steel wool or thoroughly close them with something they could not chew on like concrete or ceramic tile.

Pay special attention to sealing pipes as they are one of the easiest ways for rodents to sneak in your house.

How to Clean Dishes After Mice

Ventilate the place by opening windows and doors

Make sure that you open windows and doors and remove the curtains so you will have proper ventilation.

Disinfection means you will be working with chemicals and materials with a strong scent, and you do not want to inhale everything.

It would be best if you had proper ventilation so the scent will not linger in your home for so long. 

Wear proper protective gear

Since you will be using a lot of cleaning agents, you do not want to inhale or ingest any of those harsh chemicals, so to protect yourself, better use proper protective gear.

For your hands, of course, you could use hand gloves. There are gloves made of latex, and some are made of rubber and vinyl.

For your body, you could use an apron or anybody gear you could use for cleaning.

You may also choose to wear eye gear to protect your eyes from any cleaning chemicals that might spill into your eyes.

Wash dishes and silverware with soap and hot water

When washing the dishes, you can use hot water with dish soap. This cleaning material is safe to use even on silverwares and metals. Thoroughly clean the dishes by using a scrubber sponge.

Mix 1 part bleach with 10 parts water

After protecting yourself, it is now time to mix up your cleaning materials. I suggest that you use 1-part bleach to 10 parts water. You could also put vinegar with lemon peels diluted in a jar of water.

These cleaning materials are known for being acidic that aids in the disinfection of your place.

You could choose from these disinfectants:

Use bleach mix for additional disinfection

You can use a bleach solution if you feel like it but be very careful because this may cause poisoning.

Rinse everything thoroughly so bleach will be washed away from the dishes.

It is also good to note that using bleach on silverware and metal might ruin them, so if it’s possible to stay away from bleach when washing these types of dishes.

Spray disinfectant on sink and countertops

Spot places where they could have left dropping and urines. You may see it as a little clear yellow liquid stain. You may as well track their activity by looking for their nest and start from there.

Once you have seen those droppings and urines, spray the area with disinfectant using the material you have chosen.

You can use an ordinary spray bottle for cleaning, but there is also manual pressure spray in the market for easier use.

You can use a good microfiber cloth to clean your countertops and tables. Dish soap diluted in water may be enough, but you can use a bleach solution if you want.

Let it soak for 5 minutes, then wipe it clean

Soaking for 5 minutes will help dissolve any traces of germs and infestations caused by mice droppings and urine.

It will also help so that you can remove these traces quite easily, especially those droppings and urines that have already vaporized and turned into a stain.

Use tissue paper when wiping the area

To avoid spreading the contamination, use clean tissue paper in wiping the area where there are mice droppings and urine. Discard the tissue paper right after use.

Disinfect hard floors using bleach solution

After wiping down little areas of dropping and urine, you may now use your cleaning solution to wipe down the entire floor.

Immediately wash linens, cloths, covers, etc.

What is cleaning without changing sheets, right? This is the time to remove and wash all items that need to be washed like huge carpets, covers, and other cloths.

Inspect food boxes for potential contamination

Mice probably have been into your kitchen the most because this is where you place the food, which is why they are in your house in the first place.

Inspect for any contamination by checking each food and see if there are obvious mouse bites on them. Throw away anything that has been bitten by a mouse, or they may have infected with their droppings or urine.

Do not skip this part. Be very meticulous in cleaning this area.

Steam clean sofas and wipe appliances

Upholstered sofas may need a little effort as they need to be steamed to be disinfected. Some furniture may also need other types of cleaning ingredient which cater to the material of the furniture.

After Cleaning Procedures

Throw garbage immediately

After cleaning and disinfecting, discard the garbage right away. Do not wait until the next before you discard the garbage to avoid recontamination as garbage may attract mice again.

Throw excess cleaning bleach and cleaning chemicals

Do not forget to discard extra bleach and other cleaning solution you have not used. Most of these cleaning solutions are poisonous when ingested, so better discard them right after you have used them.

Remove gloves and wash hands thoroughly

After cleaning your place and made sure you have disinfected every nook and corner of the house, you may now remove your gloves. Do not forget to wash your hands thoroughly after removing your gloves.

Take a bath if you prefer to freshen up

Others prefer to take a bath to get rinse of residue that they may have put on their body while cleaning the house.

Sources:

• Cleaning after mice according to CDC
• Newcastle
• How Stuff Works

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