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Many of us know that household cleaning chemicals contain harmful components that can affect our health, but how many of us know what those negative effects are? Do we know which chemicals to avoid and which ones are okay? Do we know how to pick the right kind of home cleaning chemicals and keep ourselves safe? Here is a short guide about the cleaning chemicals that are dangerous to us and what we can do to protect ourselves.
Prevent Harm When Cleaning
Let’s start off with a few precautions you can take when it comes to home cleaning. You can use potentially harmful cleaners and still stay safe, if you are careful.
You always want to wear protective clothing when working with any chemicals that might be dangerous. Use cleaning gloves (thick rubber gloves work best), eyewear to prevent chemicals getting into your eyes, and a face mask to prevent dust and fume inhalation. You can also wear an apron or other protective clothing on your torso to keep chemicals off your clothing and skin.
Make sure there is plenty of ventilation when working with chemicals, as the fumes could hurt your lungs and cause adverse reactions. This is especially important when working with ammonia and bleach. If the cleaners have strong scents or fumes, then you should open windows and vents to pull these out of the work area and allow in fresh air.
Also try to use cleaners that are safe and gentle. Check the labels and pick cleaners that are listed as nontoxic, safe, and natural. These are less likely to cause any kind of adverse reactions, even if they come into contact with your skin. Use safe cleaners when possible to protect yourself, your children, pets, and the environment.
Use Residential Cleaners
You don’t have to do all of the home cleaning yourself. Maybe you want to do the sweeping and vacuuming, as well as other house chores that don’t involve cleaning agents and chemicals, but you would prefer to leave the other cleaning to someone else. That’s fine, and that’s why many people will use a residential maid service in Boston rather than handling mopping, scrubbing, and sanitizing for themselves.
If you are concerned about fumes and toxic residue left behind after anyone cleans in your home, then talk to the maid service about how they clean. Ask them to use safe, nontoxic cleaners that are environmentally friendly. Tell them about your concerns. They may be able to use safer cleaners or use different methods that won’t leave anything even slightly toxic behind.
Which Cleaners Are Dangerous?
Many household cleaning products are made using dangerous, toxic chemicals. We are simply used to these kinds of toxins in cleaners, and most people understand that they need to be careful with how they use the chemicals. They know that they need to protect themselves and wash their hands after using the cleaners. Maybe in time that will change, and most companies will provide safe cleaners, but for now, you need to be aware of which chemicals used for cleaning are toxic to you.
Watch out for VOCs, which are volatile organic compounds. These will turn into a vapor when used at room temperature and will get into the air and spread quickly throughout the home. Many studies have linked VOCs to headaches, allergic reactions, asthma attacks, respiratory issues, and more. If you experience any of these after using VOCs, you need to try to avoid them in the future.
Which cleaners contain VOCs? These are in some air fresheners, bleach, aerosol sprays, furniture polish, floor polish, rug cleaners, dry cleaning agents, and dishwashing liquid, to name some offenders. For all of these, there are safer, VOC-free alternatives that you can try. Check the label before you buy and before you use so that you know that you are exposing yourself to. Choose a safer option, if there is a chance to do so.
When you mix some chemicals together, they create even more harmful fumes. You need to avoid mixing any kind of chemicals without researching what that combination will create. Don’t try to make a cleaning chemical more powerful by adding additional cleaning chemicals to it. For example, if you add bleach to a detergent, you might make it more harmful and not increase its effectiveness. You could damage your clothes or dishes, as well as your skin. When you combine chemicals, you can no longer read the warning labels and find out all of the potential negative effects. You simply don’t know what will happen and how it will harm you when it is mixed with anything else.
Make Cleaners Safer
How do you take a harmful chemical and make it a bit safer? There is a simple way to do that, and it will work in most cases. You simply add some water to it and dilute it. This means that there is now less of the chemical and more water. By adding some water, you are minimizing the toxic potential of the cleaning agent. Consider this option if you really want to use a particular cleaner but you are concerned about how toxic it is.
You can also use safe alternatives, like homemade cleaners made from baking soda or lemon juice. Using natural cleaners that have few to no negative effects is a great way to keep your home safe. You can always research safe, natural alternatives for any kind of cleaning agent you need. For instance, if you need a grout cleaner, check online for homemade grout cleaners. Choose the one that is made from items you have on hand or can get easily and that uses no toxic chemicals. Do this for every kind of cleaning you need done, and pretty soon you will be able to replace all of those harmful cleaners with safer ones.
We hope you will be able to use this information to make your home cleaning a much safer process, with fewer negative effects on your health and better peace of mind about how safe your home is.