Cleaning products you shouldn't use/jillcomesclean
Burning the hametz on Pesach is an excuse for all of us to "turn" the house and clean it at the level of disinfection. For this we use many cleaning agents, some of which are extremely powerful in terms of their chemical composition.
To arrive at the Seder table in good health and with a polished home, receive five key rules for careful use of cleaning materials:
1. Do not mix cleaning agents
One of the most common mistakes in holiday cleaning is mixing two or more cleaning materials. The most common mistake of all is mixing zero acids to clean toilets with bleach, which is already very dangerous. The combination of these two substances creates a very dangerous chlorine gas, which can cause irreversible damage if you accidentally inhale the gas vapors into your lungs.
A reaction of cleaning agents, or inhalation of the vapors of the created substance may cause a burn, irritation or damage to the skin. But the greater danger is a burn or irritation of the soft tissues in the upper respiratory tract and even a complete or partial blockage of them.
Also, inhaling the vapors can cause poisoning symptoms. In most cases, only mild signs of poisoning develop, which usually go away on their own, but sometimes there are cases in which there can be a danger of serious poisoning - especially when it comes to substances such as degreasers, substances to open sewer clogs, concentrated bleach or certain pesticides.
2. Do not smoke while cleaning
One of the more common mistakes of smokers is to light a cigarette while cleaning, a mistake that can be costly. The cleaning agents, especially the concentrated ones such as unclogging liquids or other substances that contain caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), are very flammable, and any small spark of fire can ignite them and the surfaces they are on.
3. Do not mix vinegar with cleaning agents
In many videos on YouTube or in the many social networks, we are often exposed to cleaning tips that include mixing vinegar with other cleaning liquids.
So you should know that any combination of vinegar with a chemical may produce a dangerous reaction. One of the more dangerous combinations is that of vinegar and bleach, two substances that are super effective in cleaning the house, but only when they are on their own. When they are mixed, chlorine gas is produced and inhalation of this gas into the body may cause a host of dangerous effects such as coughing, irritation of the nose and eyes, a burning sensation in the lungs, pulmonary edema and restriction of the respiratory tract and even death.
4. Do not use cleaning agents without gloves
Avoid contact of the cleaning agents you use with the skin of your hands. Most of the cleaning agents that are intended for disinfection, strong and deep cleaning, removal of grease, rust or scale, contain ingredients that can cause skin burns to varying degrees. Also, the contact of detergents with the skin causes it to dry out and significantly lowers its PH level.
There are also stronger substances, any contact with which can cause acute inflammation of the skin with a severe burn, an injury that involves a long recovery.
The best advice is to use gloves when cleaning. Even when it comes to less powerful cleaning agents, in contact with the light for too long, they remove the fatty layer above the skin, damage the top layer, thus damaging the skin's natural barrier. From the moment the barrier is damaged, and especially if the damage is continuous and repeated often without giving the skin enough time to repair itself, a chain of events begins that leads to inflammation that worsens the situation. This creates a closed circle that is very difficult to stop.
5. Be careful of allergies to the cleaning agents
There are cleaning agents that will harm some people more than others, due to their allergic reaction to the same substance. One of the common symptoms during the holidays is dermatitis - a skin inflammation that can appear as a result of contact with cleaning agents.
There are two types of inflammation: allergic and irritant. In allergic dermatitis, a foreign substance that penetrates the skin triggers an immune response that eventually causes an inflammation in the skin. The response of the immune system is not immediate, and it appears in repeated exposures. In irritant contact dermatitis, the substance that penetrates the skin causes direct damage to the cells in the epidermis and thus causes inflammation.
The writer is the chief chemist of the Touch company