With a brutal Flu season, many schools are asking parents to wash backpacks before returning to school after the holiday break.  Especially if someone had or has the flu or strep in your home.  This can help prevent the germs from traveling with a vengeance with everyone returning at the same time.  At least sanitize it if you can’t wash it.  It's also a good idea to wash it weekly. Backpacks are the biggest germ collector. Just take a minute to think about it. The backpack lives on the ground where all the dirty shoes are. Think about the backpack being put on the ground while they use the restroom. That immediately exposes it to thousands of bacteria, especially Staphylococcus. Think about the books inside that others touch. It never occurred to me to wash a backpack.  When I saw that schools were suggesting this, it made sense.

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Most backpacks can be washed in a regular washing machine. Some may need to be hand-washed.  Another great idea is to always have a small hand sanitizer on their backpack for them to use throughout the day. You can get bulk from Amazon.

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