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A clean home provides a healthy environment for your family, but household cleaning products can contain hazardous chemicals. It's important to be aware of the most common cleaner ingredients, what they are intended (and not intended) to do, and how to use them safely.
There are many sources of bad smells in and around the home including spoiled food, mold, volatile organic chemicals, leaky or backed-up pipes and drains, and pet odors. Mixing some household cleaners such as bleach and ammonia or acid can produce toxic fumes. Some toxic fumes such as carbon monoxide are odorless. Symptoms of toxicity will depend on the gas.
Transferring products from their original containers to unlabeled beverage or other containers happens all too often. Think only children mistake the contents for juice or soda? Not so! Adults unintentionally drink these poisons too. Sometimes the result is only throat irritation or vomiting, but sometimes the consequences are serious.
Chlorine is a chemical element that takes the form of a gas at room temperature. It can cause burning and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, and can lead to coughing or lung injury. Chlorine gas mixed with water forms hypochlorite, which is found in bleach. Mixing bleach with an acid forms chlorine gas. If you inhale chlorine gas, leave the area immediately and breathe fresh air.
Smelling salts contain ammonia-based chemicals, and are used to help revive people who have fainted or are lightheaded. When inhaled, the chemicals in smelling salts cause nose and throat irritation as well as temporary increases in heart rate. While smelling salts are generally safe when used as directed, prolonged inhalation may result in permanent lung damage or death.
Borates are naturally occurring compounds with a wide variety of uses, including in cleaning products, insecticides, and solutions for skin and eyes. Borates can come in a variety of forms, most commonly boric acid and borax. Follow product instructions when using borates. If someone ingests a borate, seek immediate medical attention.
Oven and grill cleaners are usually highly caustic. Upon contact with any tissue, they can cause damage ranging from irritation to severe burns.
A variety of cleaning products are available to maintain wood floors. Wood floor cleaners are usually based on hydrocarbons, detergents, or glycol ether solvents. Each type carries its own precautions and potential adverse effects. Floor cleaners can also contain alcohol, weak acids, or alkaline chemicals to strengthen their cleaning properties.
Automatic toilet bowl cleaners contain anionic and nonionic detergents which cause stomachache, vomiting, and diarrhea if ingested. Regular toilet bowl cleaners are more toxic, since the ingredients can cause burns of the digestive tract, skin, and eyes. Combining bleach with toilet bowl cleaners will form toxic fumes that cause respiratory symptoms and skin and eye irritation.
Liquid drain cleaners contain potentially poisonous acidic or basic compounds, enzymes, and bacteria that are effective in clearing clogged drains. Since many drain cleaners contain highly concentrated corrosive chemicals, they must be used with great caution. Consumption of non-enzymatic drain cleaners can result in serious burns, permanent tissue damage, and even death.
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