When you have mice in your home, it can be hard to get rid of them. One of the biggest problems is cleaning up the mess they leave behind, which includes mouse droppings. But it’s important to be careful with mouse droppings because they might contain dangerous pathogens that could make people sick. In this piece, we’ll talk about how safe it is to clean up mouse droppings with a vacuum cleaner and give you some tips on how to do it safely.
What Could Go Wrong With Mouse Poop?
Even though mouse droppings look innocent, they can contain bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can make you sick. Hantavirus, for example, is an illness that affects the lungs and can be spread to people by breathing in dust from dried mouse droppings. Other diseases, like salmonella and leptospirosis, can also be spread by mouse poop, which can cause stomach problems and other health problems.
Cleanup with a Vacuum Cleaner
Using a vacuum cleaner to clean up mouse droppings might seem like a good way to get rid of the mess quickly, but it could be dangerous. When you vacuum up droppings, the pressure of the vacuum can turn the particles into tiny aerosols that can be breathed in. When you breathe in dust from droppings that are dirty, it can cause lung infections and other health problems.
How to clean up in a safe way
If you decide to clean up mouse droppings, do it safely by following these steps:
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Wear the right PPE, such as disposable gloves and a face mask, to keep dangerous particles from getting into your skin or lungs.
- Ventilate the Area: Before you clean, open windows and doors to let in more air and lower the number of particles in the air.
- Wet the Droppings: Before you vacuum, use a combination of water and bleach or a disinfectant to wet the droppings. This will help reduce the amount of dust that gets into the air.
- Use a HEPA Vacuum: If you decide to vacuum, use a vacuum with a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are made to catch very small particles and can help stop them from spreading.
- Don’t Beat or Sweep: Don’t beat or sweep areas with droppings because that can also send particles into the air.
- How to Throw Things Away: After cleaning up, carefully take the vacuum bag or its contents and put them in a sealed plastic bag. Throw the bag away in a trash can outside.
- Thoroughly Clean and Disinfect: After vacuuming, clean and disinfect the vacuum cleaner as well as any surfaces or objects that came in touch with the droppings.
- Services for Cleaning Done by Experts
- Because cleaning up mouse droppings can be dangerous to your health, especially if there are a lot of them, it is best to hire a professional cleaning service. Professionals in pest control know how to safely handle dangerous materials and can clean and disinfect damaged areas to reduce health risks.
Conclusion
Even though it might be tempting to use a vacuum cleaner to clean up mouse droppings, you should be careful because there could be health risks. Mouse droppings can contain harmful pathogens, and cleaning can make the droppings airborne, making them dangerous to breathe in. Follow the steps above if you decide to clean up mouse droppings, and if there are a lot of them, you might want to hire a professional cleaning service to make sure the job is done well and safely. By taking the right steps, you can get rid of mouse problems while protecting your health and well-being.
Mice control Oshawa we stand behind our safe and efficient treatments that have been consistently successful time and time again.