Cleaning products and cleaning accessories are an essential part of every home. We buy and use cleaning products to create a clean, fragrant and hygienic environment for ourselves and the household.
However, many people forget the importance of proper storage, not only to keep order, but also to protect themselves from potential dangers and increase the effectiveness of cleaning products.
Safety first
Cleaning chemicals contain a variety of substances that can cause great damage if used improperly. For example, dishwasher detergent packed in an airtight container poses only a minor danger. In contrast, bleaching detergent for curtains, which can be unscrewed very easily, is dangerous due to harmful gases.
Find a safe place
Cleaning products should remain concealed. Not only because the packaging does not exactly contribute to the attractive decoration of the home but above all, for safety reasons. If you have children, it is a good idea to provide extra protection for places where chemicals are stored. Pet owners should also pay special attention to the safe storage of cleaning products in the house.
The ideal solution is to store chemicals in a closed, ventilated room. However, if your home does not have such conditions, a cabinet locked with a key or padlock is also a good option.
A cupboard in a hallway or bathroom seems to be the perfect place for cleaning products. Keep in mind, however, that chemicals also give off different types of fumes. You should therefore air the room where they are stored regularly (at least once a week). You can also buy a plastic container, preferably with a lid. This will prevent the cleaning products from falling down, being spilt and injuring children or animals.
Watch out for expiration dates
Storing expired cleaning products can be very dangerous. When a product becomes obsolete, some substances can react with each other and turn into dangerous chemical cocktails. For this reason, it is worth checking the condition of your cleaning products from time to time and disposing of those whose expiration date has passed.
Packaging
The use of packaging of chemical cleaning products for other purposes should be avoided. The harmful substances settle deeper than they appear. It is therefore not enough to rinse the bottle with water to be able to use it again.
It is also a bad idea to decant or pour chemical substances into packaging that was previously used to store food. Children who are encouraged by colourful packaging can be poisoned, as can adults who mix up the packaging. All it takes is a moment of inattention to not notice that we are drinking acid substances instead of juice.
Practical storage
Disorder is also an enemy of cleaning. The regular search for replacement sponges, glass cleaners or fresh cloths wastes an unnecessary amount of time and energy. If you have to search for everything each time before cleaning, you can quickly lose the already slight desire to clean your apartment. So keep all your cleaning products and small accessories in one place.
You can learn from the professionals; cleaning companies use special cleaning trolleys for large areas. Firstly, to avoid leaving a bottle of chemicals somewhere, but also to clean effectively. Hardly any household needs such a cleaning trolley, but you can establish something similar in your home to achieve the same goal. Keep the most frequently used cleaning products, cloths and sponges in a bowl, container or basket that you can carry with you during the cleaning.
A clean and organised corner for accessories and cleaning equipment will also be useful when you make your next shopping list. At a glance, you can see what products you will need on your next visit to the store.
A tidy cleaning cabinet
Order is also important in the cleaning cabinet, because this not only saves you time, but also keeps track of the cleaning products you still have in stock. Firstly, you should remove all cleaning products that have expired or whose packaging is damaged. When disposing of them, make sure you follow the instructions so that you do not harm the environment or cause damage to yourself with the chemicals.
You can then sort your cleaning products in different ways, depending on which is more practical for you. You could sort by product type. This means that you organise the products by category, such as sponges, cloths, all-purpose cleaners, hygienic cleaners, upholstery cleaners, etc. But you can also prepare boxes for specific purposes. All the cleaning products and sponges that you need to clean your kitchen are collected in one box, the bathroom cleaning products in another. You can also use them for other purposes, such as cleaning upholstered furniture and carpets or cleaning windows. So on cleaning day, you have everything you need at your fingertips.
We recommend that you use transparent boxes for sorting your cleaning products. This way you can divide your cupboard into different compartments, see immediately which cleaning products are in your cupboard and can transport them into their respective box to the corresponding room for cleaning. You can also label the boxes with the superior category of the contents.
Do your cleaning products also release a chemical smell when they’re closed? Then storage boxes that you can close airtight with a lid could help you. In this way, you can also extend the effectiveness of the cleaning products.
Effectiveness
The correct storage of cleaning products is not only a question of safety in the household; it is also a guarantee that they will work effectively from first to last use. Cleaning products are not cheap so are designed to last as long as possible. That is why you should always store them according to the following criteria:
- Appropriate temperature (10 to 20 degrees Celsius)
- Storage in undamaged original packaging
- Protected from external conditions such as sunlight, humidity or high temperature
The best rule for the effective use of chemical detergents, apart from correct storage, is to follow the instructions on the packaging labels. This will ensure safety and reduce the likelihood of the product expiring prematurely.