KBZK

Posted: Jul 6, 2010 10:07 AM

Summer is a great time to do some household cleaning from the kitchen to the bathroom, but while disinfecting your home makes for a cleaner living space, mixing and matching certain cleaning supplies could present certain health risks.

Bruce Treis, a registered sanitarian with the City-County Health Department, said, "There have been some circumstances where people have died from the fumes they've created by improperly mixing the bathroom cleaners."

The key to safety when it comes to cleaning is to know which products can be used together.

Treis explained, "Basically the majority of your household cleaners are incompatible, so if you're trying to get away the hard water deposits with the Lime-Away that contains acid, you'd want to rinse that good before you did that general cleaning with the ammonia-containing cleaner."

The basic idea is to not mix bleach with ammonia or acidic products.  Most of the time the main ingredient in the product can be found on the front of the bottle or within the first couple of ingredients on the back.  Make sure to read the instructions, as many people don't anticipate the possible consequences of not following the directions.

The main health risks involve severe irritation to the respiratory system with burning in the mucus membranes that could result in permanent damage for people with problems such as asthma. 

Treis noted, "If you really notice irritation in eyes, nose, throat, difficulty breathing, that's when you'd want to call Poison Control."

In fact, 90% of poisonings happen within the home.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers lists cleaning product exposure as one of the top three reasons people call poison control.     

Some common products containing bleach are tub and tile cleaners, along with many all-purpose cleaners.

Ammonia can be found in window and glass cleaners and acidic products also include window and glass cleaners, as well as toilet bowl and drain cleaners and lime, calcium and rust removers.

One way to cut down on your risk is to only use one product per cleaning rag.

And there are safer and greener alternatives; Treis said, "First you could try...there are several baking soda formulas." There are also certain brands that claim to be more eco-friendly, but that's not a guarantee that they aren't hazardous when used in conjunction with other cleaning products.

All products have a potential to be hazardous, but being prepared by knowing which products are safe to use together can deter respiratory risks.

And remember to keep an eye on both children and pets when using cleaning supplies.

Workplaces should have what's called a Material Safety Data Sheet which lists all cleaners that can be found in a specific office or workspace, including what the cleaning product contains and how to use it.

For more information about household cleaning safety, visit HealthyHomes.