Momma Told Me: back to school must

****Simply Clean provided me with product samples for the purpose of this feature, no further compensation was offered. All photos below are copyright Momma Told Me Blog 2013.

Momma Told Me: Wash your hands!

Life is messy.

From the moment we are born we bring a myriad of germs and messes to the world around us. Some are only natural, yes, others are due to a dormant 'klutz' gene, or the innate need to touch things with funny textures and smells. (Seriously, what is with the need to touch sticky, slimy, furry, stinky things?) We begin to crawl, and soon to stumble on two feet, reaching for every surface in sight. We pull, we touch, we put our mouths on, then put our hands in our mouths. Pets who hide their business in sand traipse through our homes on ever 'clean surface' they can scale. Lazy teenagers sneeze over their shoulder, rather than into a hand or tissue. Office co-workers ignore the empty soap dispenser in the employee restroom,show off mysterious boils in the lunchroom, and leave leftovers in the fridge until they resemble a 4th grade science experiment. I'm not trying to say, "You'll never get out alive," humans are certainly adaptable to a myriad of bacteria and germs, but I'm certainly not going to be the daring scientist to figure out what's good vs. bad.

When I was a young child Momma underwent a series of chemo treatments to help her through her struggle with Hodgkins Lymphoma. She came home, cancer free, from the hospital and promptly put in place a series of strict cleansing rituals for the entire family. Her compromised immune system was in no shape to fight strange bacteria I might bring home from school, or invading germs on Pop's work uniforms. There were sprays, there were wipes, there was even an air purifier; but most of all, there was hand washing- and plenty of it. It stands to reason the best method for removing germs and bacteria is through a thorough scrubbing and rinsing, such as hand washing. No magical serum will ever erase unseen dirt and germs quite like a detailed scrub and foaming cleanser. Unfortunately, we don't all have our own portable sink in our limos. (You do drive a limo, don't you?)

Momma's answer to germs on the go was a combination of sanitizing wipes and semi-liquid antibacterial gels. So, when Simply Clean introduced me to their new range of portable 2oz. instant hand sanitizers I was instantly taken back to the school days of bag inspections and Purell . Thankfully, these $2 hand sanitizers come in much cooler containers, with their own mini lanyards, and in a variety of fragrances such as Chinese Cherry Blossom and Blue Raspberry. To be released exclusively at Walgreens, this September, just in time for cold and flu season, the Simply Clean sanitizers are the perfect answer to hand sanitation on the go. A variety of brightly colored ducks, a frog, ladybug, and even an adorable panda (you know they had me at 'panda') make up this collection of Fall season must haves.

I had a chance to try out the complete range of Simply Clean fashionably fun 2oz hand sanitizers, and was surprised at the consistency of the solution. Not too thick, and not too runny, this sanitizers absorbs quickly and covers surfaces well with just one squeeze. Unfortunately, some of the different shaped dispensers proved a little more difficult to 'squeeze' than others (I had the most trouble with the ducks, where as the frog and flat ladybug were more natural to dispense.) The fragrances weren't as strong as I'd anticipated, and I'm not sure I got Cherry Blossom from the Panda- but none of the scents were overwhelming or objectionable. Best of all they lacked that traditional 'sanitation' scent that you'll often find with brands such as Purex. In all, these make a wonderful addition to any child's backpack, or coworker's welcome gift this cold and flu season, and I hope to see the range of characters expand for the holidays to include seasonal favorites such as a penguin!

What Daughter Says: Whenever possible, wash your hands, when not- use a portable hand sanitizer such as Simply Clean.