Laugh at life’s mess

Diaper changing disasters, milk and cereal splattered across the kitchen floor, ketchup landing right on your white shirt … mess and ick are inevitable parts of everyday life, especially if you are a parent, but they are also what make life interesting and humorous.

Whether commiserating, venting or simply laughing it off, these are the stories you can’t wait to share with friends and family. Sometimes it’s best to just laugh through the mess, knowing it can all be cleaned up later.

“As a mom I am very familiar with icky situations, and as a comedienne I am a firm believer that the best way to get through them is with laughter,” said former Saturday Night Live star, Rachel Dratch. “To celebrate some of the humor in life’s messiest moments, I recently teamed up with my old friends at The Second City to host the first ever Clorox Ick Awards. Parents tweeted the messiest moments they’ve encountered, which we used to inspire funny improv sketches shared in real-time. The best comedy comes from real-life experiences, and luckily we had some great, and gross, inspiration!”

Here are some helpful tips to help you tackle the types of messes you are most likely to encounter so you can spend less time cleaning and more time living (and laughing).

General messes

A volcano science project gone bad, muddy dog running through the house. These messes can happen in any room in the house. If Fido or your little scientist leaves your floors in need of a deep cleaning, vacuum or sweep to remove the excess dirt, then start mopping at the farthest corner and work backward toward the door.

Laundry stains

Red wine on your white shirt, grass-stained baseball shorts. Pretreat the stain with a bleach gel pen, then launder as usual with detergent and bleach on the hottest recommended water setting. Repeat as necessary until the stain is removed before machine drying.

In the kitchen

Mac ‘n cheese explosion in the microwave, crusted red spaghetti sauce on the stovetop. Your kitchen spaces should not only be cleaned, but sanitized every day, and don’t forget about those appliances. Lemons, ever useful, can help to clean your microwave! Nuke a microwave-safe container with one cup of water and a few lemon wedges for three minutes, remove, then wipe away loosened food particles.

In the bathroom

Potty training mishaps, soap scum in every crevice of the shower. If your toddler misses the mark, wipe the covered surfaces with disinfecting wipes and leave wet for four minutes. Let air dry, then wipe with a clean disposable paper towel. And for the soap scum, spray the surface with a disinfectant bathroom cleaner until completely wet. Wait for 10 minutes, then rinse; no scrubbing involved.

Extreme messes and stains

The three P’s — poop, pee and puke. From diaper blowouts to being vomited on, these are the grossest, yet make for the best stories. To clean and disinfect bathroom floors and walls, mix 1/2 cup of bleach per gallon of water and wipe the affected area with the solution, letting it stand for five minutes. Rinse and let air dry. And for those unpleasant stains, thoroughly rinse the affected area with cold water then wash immediately in the warmest water recommended using detergent and stain fighter. If the stain remains, repeat.

Germy messes

Germ-infested hot spots around the house, mold growing in places it shouldn’t. Some of the germiest places in the house are ones you touch every single day — doorknobs, light switches, TV remotes, soap dispensers. The key is to make sure you disinfect all of these hotspots every day for a happy, healthy home.

So the next time you’re faced with a mess, Clorox has your back with a number of products. For more cleaning and laundry tips, and content to keep you laughing through the mess, visit www.clorox.com/laugh/ick-awards.

This article is courtesy of Brandpoint.