Household Cleaning Supplies: Danger Lurks

  As the head of household, it takes a lot of organizational skills to keep everything running smoothly and comfortably for my family.  You have to compartmentalize a lot of chores and tasks to make sure you get everything done. You wantassign days to cleaning the bathroom (unless an emergency such as a sick 10 year-old means a random cleaning), days to clean the kitchen and so on.  You should try to keep the appropriate cleaning products near ground zero; for instance keep the dish washing liquid on the kitchen sink, the tub scrubbing products in the bathroom.

Make sure you try to read the labels on household supplies before using them for a number of reasons, but the primary motivation is safety. Some of these ordinary household supplies can be potentially explosive threats to you and your family if you don’t follow the instructions.

 We’re all aware that these products can be dangerous if ingested or harmful after prolonged exposure. We all know that we should wear rubber gloves when using many of them.  But many of us never think about the possible dangers of mixing some of these household cleaning supplies.  One product by itself may be fine, but mix it with the wrong combination and you can experience shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea and worse.

 Reading the labels can be beneficial because you see the product as let’s say glass cleaner.  You may not realize that mixing that harmless household supply with the urine in the toilet bowl or the litter box can become toxic.  Some glass cleaners use ammonia which is dangerous when it connects with urine. That’s not a pleasant example, but it gets the point across. All those chemicals can turn your bathroom or kitchen into a chemistry lab.Mixing bleach and ammonia can produce chloramines. These are toxic gases that cause a number of physical reactions in you including pneumonia.

Now this is not some protest against household cleaning supplies.  It’s simply meant as a word of caution. Don’t mix cleaning supplies thinking that you can create something that will do the job better.Read the labels, you should know what’s in your hands and what under the bathroom sink.A simple trip now to the internet to learn more about the dangers of mixing household cleaning supplies can help you avoid a trip to the doctor or hospital later.