When September arrives, homes busy with school runs, packed lunches and new routines. But with the return to crowded classrooms also comes something less welcome, a spike in infections.
After weeks of summer holidays, children are suddenly sharing air, surfaces and personal space with dozens of peers. It’s no surprise that autumn is one of the most common times for coughs, colds, tummy bugs and even skin infections to spread.
This raises an important question for parents: how do we best keep our children’s environments, at school and at home clean and supportive of their health?
The Limits Of Chemical Cleaning
For decades, chemical disinfectants and bleach-based products have been the standard answer. They do kill germs on contact, but their effect is short-lived. Surfaces can be re-contaminated within minutes after use, whether from a sneeze, a hand, or simply airborne particles settling back down. A major hospital study published in showed that even with strict protocols, disinfection offered no advantage over soap-based or probiotic cleaning because surfaces are quickly re-colonised.1
Research has also highlighted some downsides. Disinfectants can release irritant vapours linked to asthma and skin irritation. Their widespread use has been associated with the rise of resistant microbes, meaning bacteria that can withstand both disinfectants and antibiotics. They also carry environmental costs, as residues cannot simply be rinsed down the drain without consequences.2,3
So, while chemical cleaning may deliver a quick “kill,” it does not provide lasting protection, nor does it nurture a healthier environment for children to learn and play.
A New Approach: Probiotic Cleaning
Probiotic or synbiotic cleaning takes inspiration from nature. Instead of sterilising surfaces, these products introduce beneficial bacteria - most often Bacillus species - alongside natural food sources that help them thrive. Once applied, these probiotics germinate and colonise surfaces, continuing to break down organic matter and maintain balance for hours or even days.4
This concept of “seeding” good bacteria has been tested in some of the most demanding environments: hospitals. If it works there, it has meaningful implications for our everyday settings like schools and homes.
What The Science Shows
- Hospital trials in Germany: A 2017–2018 randomised controlled trial at Charité University Hospital in Berlin compared three cleaning strategies: soap-based, chemical disinfectant, and probiotic. The study found no difference in infection prevention between disinfectants and probiotic cleaning. Importantly, probiotic cleaning was seen as an environmentally safer alternative without toxic residues.1
- Multicentre study in Italy: In an Italian hospital, replacing chemical cleaning with a probiotic system reduced healthcare-associated infections from 4.8% to 2.3%, halving the incidence rate. The same study showed up to a two-log reduction in antibiotic resistance genes on surfaces.5
- Impact on resistant microbes: The investigation also found that probiotic cleaning not only reduced pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile on hospital surfaces, but also decreased the presence of drug resistance genes, without selecting for new resistant strains.5
- Budget and sustainability benefits: An economic analysis showed probiotic cleaning systems could significantly reduce costs by lowering infection rates and antibiotic use, while also cutting chemical effluent release.6
Together, these studies suggest probiotic cleaning offers at least equivalent infection control to disinfectants, but with the added benefits of sustainability, safety and support for microbial balance.
Why This Matters For Schools and Homes
Children spend hours each day in close contact with shared desks, doorknobs, bathrooms and sports equipment. Surfaces in these environments are touched hundreds of times daily and can become reservoirs for microbes. Chemical cleaners give a temporary “reset,” but probiotic cleaners go further by helping surfaces maintain a healthier balance over time.
This is especially relevant at the start of the school year, when immune systems are suddenly challenged and minor infections can ripple through classrooms and families. By choosing cleaning products that work with biology rather than against it, parents and schools can foster environments that are fresh, balanced and less reliant on harsh chemicals.
Bringing It Home
At Gutology, we see the home microbiome as an extension of your family’s health. Just as gut and skin microbes play a vital role in wellbeing, the microbes in our living spaces influence the air we breathe and the surfaces we touch.
That’s why we developed Home Biome+, a probiotic-based cleaning solution designed for daily use in the home. It provides a gentle yet effective alternative to bleach and harsh chemical sprays, offering continuous cleaning action while supporting a balanced surface microbiome.
Takeaway: As your children head back to school, consider not just what goes into their lunchbox, but also how you clean the spaces where they eat, play and rest. Science is showing us that cleaning with probiotics can be just as effective as disinfectants in reducing pathogens, while offering long-term benefits for health and the environment.
