Mommy Greenest Approved: Nixing the Five Second Rule with Zerorez SoCal

I was the second to get pregnant. My sister-in-law went first; two years later, I had my son—and then two more kids, in relatively rapid succession.

The two of us had this joke—I’m sure you’ve heard it—that with the first kid you sterilize the bottle if you drop it on the floor, with the second you put the nipple in your mouth to clean it off, and with the third, you wipe it on your pants.

Just writing that makes me cringe. But back then, we didn’t really think much about germs—or toxic chemicals in cleaning products.

I’m always on the hunt for better cleaning products without toxic chemicals. ZerorezSoCal cleans carpets, upholstery and tile using—wait for it—water. Now I know that the so-called “five second rule”—in which you can pick up food that’s dropped on the floor and give it back to a baby if you do so within five seconds—is a big load of hogwash.

“A dropped item is immediately contaminated [with bacteria],” said Jorge Parada, medical director of the infection prevention and control program at Loyola University Health System in an article for ScienceDaily.

In the seconds that the food hits the floor, it can be contaminated with as many as 1,000 bacteria, Parada said. If you put it in your mouth, you’re getting those bacteria, then adding your own bacteria to the contaminated items before you give it back to the baby.

Ick.

But you’re not going to put your kids in a bubble, right? Even if you’re not feeding them dropped food, at some point, they’re going to be in contact with the floor.

And this is where the real ick factor comes in. As I’ve shared before, many conventional cleaning products contain dangerous chemicals. Even if there’s not a skull-and-crossbones on the label, these chemicals can lead to health problems like allergies and asthma. In fact, the EPA estimates that the air inside our homes can be as more polluted than the air outside, in part because of chemical cleaning products.

Toxic chemicals are much more icky to me than dropped food.

So I’m always on the hunt for cleaner cleaning products. And this month, I’m trying out a really cool concept in cleaning: ZerorezSoCal. They clean bacteria and other gunk from carpets, upholstery, tile and grout using—wait for it—water.

Yes, you read that right, but it’s a special kind of water—patented, in fact—that’s high pH and so pure you can drink it. And I will, of course. Remember when I drank hair spray to prove its ingredients were safe? That’s just how I roll.

As a Zerorez SoCal Ambassador for the month, I snagged a special discount to SoCal readers: Clean two areas—up to 200 square feet each—for just $99. That means carpet, hardwood, tile, grout and stone. (They also clean upholstery, but it’s not part of this offer.)  Want to join me? Just call 866-937-6739 to set up an appointment with a tech. Then stay tuned for more on my ZerorezSoCal cleaning adventure.

This post was sponsored by Zerorez SoCal and meets the standards I’ve established to endorse a brand as “Mommy Greenest Approved.” Click here for more about Editorial Standards.