Back to School, Back to… What Is That Smell?

Back-to-school season brings a lot of things back into our homes: backpacks by the door, lunchboxes on the counter, sneakers kicked across the floor, piles of laundry, permission slips that were apparently due yesterday—and a surprising assortment of smells.

Some of them are easy to identify. Others make you walk around the house sniffing things until you finally discover a damp towel that has been living at the bottom of a backpack since Friday.

Welcome back to school.

Kids Bring Home More Than Homework

Once school starts, our homes become part of a much bigger ecosystem.

Kids spend their days in classrooms, cafeterias, buses, playgrounds, locker rooms, gyms and after-school activities. Then their backpacks, jackets, shoes, sports equipment and lunch containers come home with them.

That doesn't mean the house needs to be disinfected from top to bottom every afternoon. A home is supposed to be lived in. But a few simple habits can keep dirt, grime and odors from getting ahead of you.

And this is where Kleen Green can be particularly useful.

Start With the Backpack

A backpack may be one of the hardest-working—and least-cleaned—things a child owns.

It gets put on school floors, bus floors, cafeteria benches, playground pavement and who knows where else. Inside, it may carry food crumbs, spilled drinks, damp clothing and the occasional forgotten snack.

Empty backpacks regularly and check the bottom and little pockets. Remove crumbs and debris first, then clean appropriate washable surfaces according to the backpack manufacturer's instructions.

The same principle applies to reusable lunch bags. Food residue doesn't always look dramatic, but over time it can become a source of stubborn odors.

Kleen Green's enzyme-based formula can be especially helpful when you're dealing with organic grime and odors rather than simply dust or dirt.

The After-School Drop Zone

One of the easiest ways to make back-to-school cleaning manageable is to give everything a place to land.

Instead of backpacks, jackets and shoes migrating through the entire house, create a simple drop zone near the entrance. Hooks, baskets, a shoe mat or even one designated corner can make a big difference.

Then clean that area regularly.

Floors around the entrance tend to collect whatever came home on everyone's shoes. Door handles, light switches and other frequently touched surfaces also get a lot more action once school is back in session.

You don't need to obsess over every fingerprint. The goal is simply to keep buildup from becoming a bigger cleaning job later.

Don't Forget the Laundry That Doesn't Look Dirty

School clothes have an interesting talent: they can come out of the laundry looking perfectly clean and still develop a slightly unpleasant smell once they're being worn again.

Sweat, body oils and other organic residues can become trapped in fabric, particularly athletic clothing and synthetic materials. Sometimes adding more fragrance simply covers the problem temporarily.

An enzyme cleaner takes a different approach by helping break down organic material.

That can make enzyme-based cleaning particularly interesting for school uniforms, athletic clothing, socks and other washable items that seem to hang onto odors. Always follow the product directions and the care instructions for the material you're cleaning.

And if your child plays sports, don't forget about the equipment itself. Gym bags, pads, helmets and other gear can develop their own little ecosystems surprisingly quickly.

The Lunchbox Test

Here's an excellent Friday-afternoon habit: empty the lunchbox completely.

Not Sunday night.

Not Monday morning.

Friday.

That half-eaten piece of fruit isn't going to improve over the weekend.

Wash reusable containers and bottles and wipe out the lunch bag. Pay special attention to seams and corners where little bits of food and liquid can collect.

A few minutes now can prevent opening the lunchbox Monday morning and discovering that you've accidentally conducted a science experiment.

Enzymes Are Especially Good at the Mystery Stuff

Some cleaning jobs aren't really about visible dirt.

They're about organic residue.

A spilled drink. A little milk left in a bottle. Sweat in athletic clothes. Food in the bottom of a lunch bag. Something mysterious on the carpet that nobody remembers spilling.

And, of course, homes with pets have an entirely separate category of organic surprises.

Traditional cleaning can remove what you see while leaving behind some of what you smell. Enzyme cleaners are useful because enzymes help break down organic material into smaller components that can be removed more easily.

That's one reason Kleen Green can be a useful addition to the household cleaning routine rather than simply another bottle of cleaner under the sink.

Clean Enough to Enjoy the School Year

Back-to-school cleaning doesn't need to become another assignment for parents.

You don't need an immaculate mudroom or a perfectly organized row of matching baskets. You don't need to wipe down everything your child touches the moment they get home.

A better goal is to stay one step ahead of the things that become unpleasant when they're forgotten.

Empty the backpack. Wash the lunchbox. Let wet things dry. Deal with spills before they become smells. Keep an eye on shoes and sports equipment. Give high-traffic areas a little extra attention.

And when ordinary soap and water aren't quite getting to the source of an organic mess or lingering odor, that's a good time to reach for Kleen Green.

Because the beginning of the school year already comes with enough surprises.

Whatever is growing in the bottom of the lunchbox doesn't need to be one of them.