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9 Ways to Safely Use Bleach to Clean in Your Home

9 Ways to Safely Use Bleach to Clean in Your Home
February 22, 2021

Household chlorine bleach is made to avoid damaging common household surfaces, such as stainless steel, nonporous surfaces like many kitchen and bathroom countertops, porcelain, glass, and stainless steel. That means it is safe to use as an effective disinfectant cleaner for things such as toilets and sinks, most floors, trash cans, and more. Because bleach has a strong smell and can also be irritating to the skin, eyes, and lungs, there are ways to use it properly to make it safer when cleaning your home. Here are 9 ways our house-cleaning services experts recommend you use bleach safely.

9 Ways to Safely Use Bleach to Clean in Your Home

1. A little goes a long way

Bleach is highly effective and, therefore, doesn’t require large amounts to do its job. The safest way to use it is to dilute it with water using a ratio of ⅓ cup of bleach to 4 litres of water. This will provide a bleach disinfectant cleaner ideal for home use.

2. Only mix bleach with water

While it might be tempting to mix bleach with other types of cleaners, this is a big no-no. Bleach with water is fine, but mixing it with anything else including vinegar will produce toxic gases. These gases are harmful and can cause breathing issues, burning watery eyes, and shortness of breath. Bleach and ammonia together are even worse, as it produces the highly toxic gas, chloramine. It too can cause issues including chest pain. Your safest bet is to avoid mixing bleach with anything other than water. For example, avoid using bleach even in combination with another cleaner such as when wiping down a counter with bleach, followed by another kitchen surface cleaner, which can contain things such as alcohol that produces chloroform.

3. Excellent for disinfecting

A diluted bleach solution is perfect for sanitizing things such as toys, doggy bowls, shower curtains, etc. It not only kills germs, but can also help remove stains. If you find your outdoor furniture has grown mould, it is the perfect solution to remove it and keep it away. When using bleach, even a diluted kind for anything that might come into contact with food, hands, or mouths, always thoroughly rinse it away.

4. Kitchen use

As mentioned, bleach is safe for use on most kitchen surfaces. This includes sealed granite countertops and stainless steel. For kitchen use, dilute the bleach with ½ cup of bleach for 4 litres of water. Apply the bleach to the surface, wait 5 minutes, and then rinse it away. Allow it to air dry. Other areas you can use bleach in the kitchen include:

  • To clean the inside of the fridge
  • Cleaning the sink
  • The outside of other kitchen appliances
  • To disinfect trash cans
  • To disinfect cutting boards
  • To clean your scrubbing sponges
  • Kitchen floors

5. Bathrooms

People have used bleach to clean bathrooms for years. It does a great job in showers, sinks, tubs, toilets, and floors. It is the ideal choice for bathrooms because this is a room where germs like to hide. Use the same dilution as for the kitchen, and follow the same instructions. You can also pour a ½ cup of bleach directly into the toilet bowl, give it a good scrub with your toilet brush, and wait about 5 minutes before flushing it down the toilet. If you have kids and keep bath toys in the bathroom, they will be prone to germs and bacteria. Place the toys in a bucket with a ½ cup of bleach and 4 litres of water, and let them sit in a well-ventilated area for 5 minutes. Make sure you rinse them thoroughly and air dry before using them again.

6. Laundry

Bleach cannot be poured directly onto clothes. It will actually bleach out colours and leave marks that will ruin your clothes. To use bleach in the laundry, it has to be placed in the washer bleach dispenser. About ¾ cup of bleach should do the trick. If you have tough stains on whites only, you can soak them in ¼ cup of bleach and 4 litres of water for no longer than 10 minutes. In the case of some light coloured clothes, you can do this as well, but only if the instructions on the label say they are bleach safe. If you aren’t sure, avoiding bleach altogether for laundry might be best. A better option might be using powdered oxygen bleach products. When dissolved with warm water, it can be used to remove stains. However, you should do a spot check somewhere, like under the collar or where the shirt might be tucked in before trying it! If it seems safe, apply the powder/water mix, and let the clothes soak in cold water overnight.

7. Outdoor use

We’ve already mentioned using bleach on outdoor furniture, but you can use it for many things in the garden including:

  • Cleaning garden tools in 1 part bleach to 4 parts water to reduce the risk of spreading diseases to plants.
  • Plant pots should also be cleaned with the same solution before reusing to reduce the risk of diseases.
  • Hardscaping such as stepping stones, masonry, concrete, and brick can also be cleaned with bleach solutions to remove moss and algae growth using 1 cup of bleach to 4 litres of water sprayed in areas with growth.

Make sure you rinse everything well. In the case of hardscaping, when rinsing with a hose, direct the water away from garden beds.

8. When not to use bleach

First and foremost, bleach is a disinfectant. Therefore, for everyday cleaning, using an appropriate surface cleaner is best. That’s because bleach won’t remove dirt or residue, but instead kills germs. If you want to use bleach as a disinfectant on dirty surfaces, always clean the dirt away first, rinse with water, and then apply the bleach solution.

9. Beware of fumes and skin contact

If you’ve used bleach in the past, you know it stinks! However, those fumes can cause harm. When possible, either open the windows or turn on a fan when using bleach to help keep the fumes to a minimum. As well, always work wearing gloves to protect your skin from irritation.

If you want to keep your home germ-free and spotless, leave it up to our expert house-cleaning services at Maid4Condos to keep your house clean. Reach out to us today.

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