Urban Sanitation
Green Life Sand Sanitation
Playing in a sandbox helps childhood development, but what is in the sand? We could find fecal bacteria from dogs and cats which would infect the skin, eyes, digestive system and heart valves. How do we protect our children?
Dangerous Sand
The common contamination that is found in sandboxes contains bacteria from the bodies and feces of animals, mainly dogs and cats.
The biggest danger in sandboxes is the parasites which come from feces or other animal secretions. The illness toxocariasis can come from dogs or cats. Children put sand in their mouths and the roundworm larvae can enter the intestines, eyes, lungs, and other internal organs. This causes fever and in some rare cases can damage organs. The staphylococcus bacteria enter the body through the skin and can cause chronic skin infection. Another common parasite is toxoplasmosis which is found in the digestive tract of dogs and cats. When this penetrates a human body it can cause a disease like pneumonia or the flu which attacks the pulmonary system.
Streptococcus and staphylococcus can cause skin infections or sores in places where the skin is scratched.
This is what happens. How can we stop it from happening?
Treating and Covering the Sand
Cleaning and Sanitizing the Sandbox
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Green Up for Sandboxes is a broad spectrum sanitizer which kills bacteria, fecal microorganisms, microscopic fungi and mold.
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It absorbs bad odors.
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It does not stain or damage the sandboxes or ceramics or ceramic coating.
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It does not damage metal, rubber, plastic or stainless steel. It is non-flammable and does not emit toxic gases or the synthetic smell common to chemical cleaners.
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It is not dangerous to airways and does not leave marks on skin or hands.
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It is biodegradable and does not pollute the environment.
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In addition, this product repels dogs and cats from the sprayed area.
Recommendations and Directions for Use
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Green Up for Sandboxes is concentrated and ready to use after diluting with water. Do not dilute or mix with any other material.
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Do not heat or use on very hot areas.
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Dilute 1 liter Green Up for Sandboxes to 1.5 liters water. In a 5 liter sprayer use 2 liters of Green Up for Sandboxes and add 3 liters of water.
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Each prepared liter of mixture is enough to spray about 3 sq. meters of sand.
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Spray the sandbox from top to bottom twice a week at the beginning of use. Later it can be used once a week.
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Once a month before spraying rake the sand to remove any foreign objects and then spray.
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Rinse the sand with water about 15 minutes after spraying. For every sq. meter of sand rinse with about 5 liters of water. In case of significant pollution repeat the sanitizing process immediately.
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After spraying with the product and rinsing with water wait for about half an hour before allowing the children to enter the sandbox.
- It’s recommended to do the spraying in the afternoon when the children have gone home.
Changing the sand
The sand should be changed every 5-6 months.
Testing for Germs in the Sandbox
In almost every sandbox the level of pathogenic germs is high and dangerous to children. After treatment the sand meets these levels:
Name Result Level
E. Coli <10.0 acceptable
Fecal Coliforms <100.0 acceptable
Fecal Streptococci <70 acceptable
Listeria Monocytogenes negative acceptable
Staphylococci Aureus <50 acceptable
Salmonella negative acceptable
The conclusion is that the standards which are suitable for children’s play are met and the sand is not dangerous to their health.
Recommendations for Cleaning Sandboxes
The sand should be changed every 5-6 months.
There should be systematic cleaning of the sand between changes.
The sand should be covered every night. There should be tests done throughout the year to check the level of germs.