Monsoon is synonymous with many things, and while it does bring with it some cosy moments, it is also notoriously known to cause flu and poor immunity
Thus, it’s important to maintain proper hygiene at home. And while it’s a tiresome job, we have a few tips that will help you keep your home clean and bug-free this monsoon.
Clothes and cupboards
- Fold your clothes and keep them inside the cupboard only after they are completely dry. Even a little bit of moisture can also invite foul smell and crawlers;
- Store your clothes in ventilated areas or keep your cupboards slightly open so that there is cross ventilation and moisture that gets collected in the wood of your cupboards does not get locked inside;
- Naphthalene balls or other natural alternatives such as neem leaves also come to the rescue to maintain lower moisture levels;
- You can also place newspapers under your clothes so that they suck the moisture keeping your clothes and cupboards free from odour and dampness.
Pests, your uninvited guests
The rainy season along with the humid climate is just the ideal condition for insects and other pesky creatures to survive and grow. It’s in this season that you have maximum visitors like these at home. While most of these creatures aren’t life-harming, they do destroy your furniture (especially cupboards and beds) and spread diseases.
Samruddhi Chavan, who works as a hygiene expert at HiCare Cleanliness Services in Mumbai suggests some ways to keep these creatures away:
“The most common creatures that enter your home during the rainy seasons are mosquitoes, termites, and earthworms. This apart, rats and other crawlers also make their way in.
- Mosquitoes – Open and stagnated water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, irrespective of the season. Keeping your buckets filled with water attracts them, unless you have a water shortage issue at home, which makes storing water a compulsion; then ensure that you store water in closed drums instead of open buckets; sprinkle the boric powder around the drum. Another easy way to keep them away from your home is to put mesh on doors and windows. Do not keep your doors and windows open – neither during the day nor at night as mosquitoes are present throughout the day during monsoons. Putting a mesh enables you to keep windows and safety doors open, allowing the air to flow, which maintains ventilation.
- Termites – Immediately after the first showers, get an anti-termite treatment done for all the furniture at your home. Boric acid and termiticide work well against these winged insects; there are many other such products available in the market.
- Earthworms – The only way to keep them away from your home is to close all drain holes and ensure that there are no gaps in your main doors and windows. Because of their slimy body, and the flexibility, it’s quite easy for them to slip in wherever they want.”
Stop germs and water at the entrance
It’s best to not let water enter your home. And for that, place a water-absorbing doormat outside the door. “We have a foldable stand to keep all wet umbrellas and raincoats outside our home. We all hang our wet rain gear on that stand till the majority of the water drips off and then take them inside and dry the rest. This way, we can avoid the dirty rainwater entering the house and also the odour that it brings along. The stand also has a place to keep our wet footwear,” says Nikita Shroff, a Mumbai resident. Additionally, fill all cracks in the wall and also tiny gaps that exist around doors, windows, pipelines, vents, and chimneys.
Indoor plants help too
“Basil, Aloe Vera, Lemon Grass, and Citronella are some insect-repellent plants that help to keep them out of your home. Natural oils such as neem oil or eucalyptus oil also function as insect repellents. Keeping camphor balls or spraying a mixture of vinegar and water on doors and windows also helps,” suggests Chavan. Insects hate cinnamon powder and can be sprinkled in all corners of the house. Natural oils such as neem oil, lavender oil, and eucalyptus oil are some of the other effective natural insect repellents. Their strong odour draws insects away when sprayed in the room or applied on the skin. Light a piece of camphor in the room or spray a mixture of white vinegar and water around doorways and windowsills. Avoid scented toiletries as they can attract pests.
