Sick ends up being one of the signature scents of parents for a period of the parenting journey at least. Often of course combined in a wonderful concoction with a range of other baby and child related smells. It’s kind of just how it goes and part of the ride, but any parent will tell you that the smell of sick has a nasty habit of lingering around.

When it’s on clothes there are a number of in-wash things you can do to loose the stench and cleanse whatever it is. I love the Dettol Antibacterial Laundry Cleanser, which kills 99.9% of bacteria AND makes things smell lovely again. It’s perfect for clothing or bedding and gives that extra piece of mind.

The hard things are always things like the carpet or the mattress or even the car if a child has been ill in there. Sometimes these things happen to areas you can’t throw in the washing machine. So what can you do?

The first thing is of course to get rid of any solid matter. Anything you can scrape off the surface affected should be removed as soon as possible. Blotting the area using a good quality kitchen towel can be helpful, this absorbs any excess moisture. Use you chosen liquid cleaning solution and scrub the area, rinse with cold water and repeat if required, then blot again.

Now the actual sick has gone how do you get rid of the smell?

Here are a few thoughts:

• • Bicarbonate of soda – leave it on for a few hours and then vacuum it up
  • White vinegar solution
  • Dettol All-in-One Disinfectant Spray can be used all over the house and car and it smells great too
  • Febreze Fabric Freshener
  • Biological washing powder and cold water

Do you have any top tips to share? How do you eliminate the smell of sick?