Top Tips for a Safe Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning can present more safety challenges than everyday cleaning. It could involve rearranging things in the home and leaving cleaning products out in the open longer than usual. It can be tiring and disruptive, and it is recommended to take precautionary steps in advance. Leaving cleaners containing strong chemicals within reach can lead to poisoned children who not only get these products on their skin but also swallow, inhale, or get them in their eyes, resulting in serious toxicity or injury.

Familiarize yourself with these major categories of household cleaners, along with their dangers if handled by children or improperly used by adults:

Acids

Acids used in cleaners range from very mild to very strong. Acid-containing household cleaning products include toilet bowl, tub, metal, and tile cleaners, as well as tarnish removers. Always read labels carefully when choosing acid-based products for cleaning.

Mild acid cleaners include those with acetic acid (such as vinegar) or citric acid (found in lemons and other citrus fruits). Cleaners made with these mild ingredients are generally safe for use around children and pets. They are used to dissolve hard water spots on glassware and other surfaces, eliminate soap scum from sinks, bathtubs, and shower doors, and remove mild rust stains. Phosphoric acid is stronger than acetic or citric acid and is in many bathroom tubs, tile, and toilet bowl cleaners. Some other mild acids found in household cleaners include gluconic acid, glycolic acid, and levulinic acid. These mild acid cleaners are of low toxicity to humans, aside from irritant effects on the skin and eyes.

Strongly acidic cleaners can be very dangerous. They are likely to be corrosive, meaning they can "gnaw" away at metal—or human tissue. These include toilet bowl cleaners, rust removers, concrete cleaners, and other products containing hydrochloric acid, oxalic acid, sodium acid sulfate, or sulfuric acid. All of these are poisonous and can injure the skin with direct contact, as well as the eyes and the lungs by way of direct contact or strong fumes.

Always follow label directions to avoid injury. Never mix household cleaning products! For example, mixing an acid toilet bowl cleaner with bleach will result in the formation of irritating chlorine fumes that might cause serious breathing problems. Make sure to ventilate the area in which you are working thoroughly by opening a door or window and using an exhaust fan.

Alkalis

Alkalis include sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium carbonate (also called washing soda or soda ash), and trisodium phosphate. (TSP). These are produced as drain cleaners, oven cleaners, scouring powders, and all-purpose cleaners.

Mild alkalis like sodium bicarbonate are not caustic and are generally safe to use around children and pets.

Moderate alkalis include ammonia and sodium borate (borax). Ammonia is added to many household cleaners for its grease-cutting ability. Ammonia should never be mixed with chlorine or bleach products. This can release a highly irritating gas known as chloramine. Never mix any cleaning chemicals since it might lead to a potentially dangerous chemical reaction.

Strong alkalis are in products such as oven cleaners, lye (caustic soda or sodium hydroxide), and drain cleaners. They are very caustic and can cause chemical burns on the skin and in the lungs if strong fumes are inhaled. Lye gives off toxic fumes and can cause skin burns and severe eye injuries, including blindness, if the liquid or fumes come into close contact with the eyes. Today, trisodium phosphate isn’t commonly found in cleaners since most phosphates have been phased out due to concerns about their environmental impact. However, it can still be found in cleaning products sold primarily through home improvement stores.

Bleaches

Bleaching agents are used as disinfectants, stain removers, and for mold and mildew control. To be labeled as a disinfectant, EPA standards require that the product destroy 99.9% of disease-causing organisms within 5 to 10 minutes of application.

Some bleaching products might not list the word "bleach" on the label, so it’s important to recognize other names for chemical bleaching agents. These include sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium carbonate peroxide.

Chlorine (or hypochlorite) bleach is a widely available, affordable, and effective disinfectant agent. Chlorine bleach can irritate the skin and eyes. The fumes are also irritating to the lungs if inhaled. Plain sodium hypochlorite household bleach is likely to cause limited vomiting if unintentionally swallowed in small amounts. However, some sodium hypochlorite bleach products have added sodium hydroxide, which can make swallowing, skin, or eye exposure more dangerous by causing chemical burns. Bleaches with sodium hydroxide often have the word "ultra" on the product label.

Polishes and Waxes

Furniture polishes and waxes often contain chemicals called hydrocarbons, such as mineral oil, as solvents. When swallowed, coughing and vomiting can follow, resulting in the oily substance entering the lungs, which is called aspiration. Aspiration can lead to lung inflammation and severe breathing problems.

Many polishes and waxes are packaged in pressurized aerosol cans that must be protected from extreme heat to prevent explosion.

Detergents

Detergents break up and remove grease and dirt. The most significant ingredients in detergents are "surfactants," a short version of "surface active agents." Chemicals called "builders" are sometimes added to increase the efficiency of detergents. When a builder is added, the product is often labeled as “heavy-duty” or “all-purpose.”

Liquid and granular regular laundry detergents can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea if swallowed, but generally don't cause serious poisoning. However, serious poisoning can occur in children after unintentionally swallowing concentrated liquid laundry detergent packaged as small single-use units, or pods. Severe vomiting, drowsiness, aspiration, and respiratory distress requiring breathing tubes can develop after swallowing or biting into these packets.

Liquid hand dishwashing detergents are safe to use around children and pets.

If your child swallows or drinks a cleaner or detergent, use the webPOISONCONTROL online tool for guidance or call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away. Poison Control’s expert guidance is always free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.

Mary Elizabeth May, RN, BA, MPH
Certified Specialist in Poison Information

Revised William G. Troutman, PharmD
Professor of Pharmacy Emeritus

Poison Control Media Information

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