Keep an eye out for mouse, bird, raccoon and bat droppings if you’re cleaning up your garage or shed this spring.
Susan Healey, the Communications Coordinator for the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, says you could find small accumulations of those droppings during your spring cleaning.
“These droppings may have harmful micro-organisms that are released into the air in the dust as you clean up,” she says.
She says you should open your doors and windows for 30 minutes before cleaning for ventilation, wear disposable gloves and a face mask so you don’t breathe in anything harmful, and wash your hands well when you’re finished.
If you find any droppings, she says you should wet them with a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water, then shovel the droppings into a garbage bag alongside the cleaning cloth and seal it.
You can find more advice for how to take care of spring cleaning safely on the Health Unit’s website.