10 Cleaning Mistakes That Can Be Bad for Your Health (making your bed early is one of them!)

Cleaning the house is not the most pleasant thing in the universe. But almost everyone agrees that living in the midst of mess and filth is even worse. However, when we take care of our little corner, sometimes we do things in a way that we think is right and, in fact, we are putting our health and that of our family members at risk.

Due to distraction or lack of knowledge (after all, no one knows everything and we are in the world to learn), we take certain domestic attitudes, sometimes even quite dangerous. Cleaning with everything closed, for example, can attack your lungs. Mixing cleaning products can create a homemade bomb. And alcohol gel is not as efficient as you think to leave the house free of germs.

But the Incredible.club It also brings good news for the lazy: leaving the bed unmade in the morning is good for getting rid of dust mites! Learn about some of the 10 most common mistakes and how to do the cleaning the right way. And at the end, close the lid!

You have to be very careful with mold, also known as mildew. Some species of these fungi can be harmful to health, causing mycoses and skin lesions, respiratory problems, muscle pain, allergies, causing or aggravating asthma and bronchitis attacks.

Rubbing an unsightly mildew stain caused by moisture can be tempting, but it’s not the right way to solve the problem. With all this friction, the fungal spores can spread through the environment and continue to cause damage to the health of the family.

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Cleaning specialist Ralitsa Prodanova, from British company Fantastic Services, recommends using rubber gloves, a mask and protective goggles to fight mold. Using a spray bottle, you should apply bleach to the area covered by mold, let the product act for half an hour and then pass a damp cloth and wash the affected area.

Powerful cleaning products can be great allies to make the house shine. But constant exposure to toxic substances such as chlorine, benzene or bleaches can lead to respiratory problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic bronchitis, diseases that also affect smokers.

A survey by the French Institute of Health and Medical Research found that nurses who frequently use disinfectants to clean objects and the work environment are between 24% and 32% more likely to develop COPD. Another research, from the University of Bergen, in Norway, concluded that women who work with cleaning have a decline in lung function comparable to that of those who smoke 20 cigarettes a day.

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Relitsa Prodanova recommends opening all windows and doors when cleaning the house. Thus, the vapors of the toxic elements contained in cleaning products dissipate more quickly in the air. In addition, it is recommended to wear nose and mouth masks, protective eyewear and rubber gloves when handling these products.

This tip will please those who are lazy to make their bed early. Dust mites—famous pets that cause allergies, rhinitis, and asthma—love tidy beds. That’s because, during sleep, our perspiration leaves the sheets and mattress damp. If you make the bed as soon as you wake up, you leave everything exactly the way mites love to proliferate, since they need moisture to survive.

A research from the University of Kingston, in England, proved the thesis that the tidy bed can contribute to the infestation of mites. The same survey counted that we have around 1.5 million dust mites in our beds. So it’s not easy to get rid of them completely.

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“Sometimes, simply leaving the bed unmade during the day can help to remove moisture from the sheets and mattress, so that the mites become dehydrated and die”, says scientist Stephen Pretlove, who led the British research. Relitsa Prodanova recommends the same procedure and suggests that bed linen be washed weekly in hot water. Vacuuming the mattress frequently also prevents mite infestation.

Anyone who thinks that a “cocktail” of products can be efficient to leave the house immaculate may be exposing themselves to several risks. Mixing bleach with ammonia-based products, for example, creates a chemical reaction that releases vapors of chlorine gas, chloramine and other gases that can cause lung damage or loss of sight and smell, in addition to being explosive.

Bleach, by the way, so useful for heavy cleaning, should also not be mixed with alcohol (causes damage to the lungs, nervous system, eyes and liver) or vinegar (causes burns in the eyes and affects the lungs). . By mixing vinegar and baking soda together, which seems harmless, you could also be creating an explosive device indoors.

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The rule is simple and one: never mix cleaning products. It is not known what chemical reactions can take place and, for prevention, it is best to avoid experiments. When buying a product, also be careful to carefully read the instructions for use on the label and know the safety procedures to avoid accidents.

It gives that feeling of brightness and cleanliness to pass a good cloth with gel alcohol over the table’s Formica before the meal, doesn’t it? Well, it just does, but that’s not the truth. Alcohol gel is suitable for cleaning hands, due to its texture, but it does not work well for cleaning the house, as explained by the Health Surveillance of Products division of the Paraná State Department of Health.

When passing the product over the surface, the alcohol soon evaporates and a layer of gel remains on the table, countertop or glass. On this “sticky” layer, dirt and bacteria will accumulate. That is, your table may look worse than it already was.

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Liquid alcohol 70% has a more effective bactericidal function than gel and must be applied with a clean cloth dampened with water. But beware of it, which is abrasive and can corrode materials such as plastic, leather and wood. It is also an enemy of the hands, as it dries out the skin. As it is flammable, it can also cause fires and, of course, should be kept away from children, like any cleaning product.

You know the boring mother who keeps repeating: “Did you use the dish, did you wash it?” In that case, she is absolutely right. Plates, cups, cutlery and other utensils with leftover food are a playground for bacteria and can turn your kitchen into a dirtier place than the bathroom, causing intestinal infections, gastroenteritis, hepatitis and even tuberculosis.

In fact, the kitchen sink is capable of accumulating more bacteria than the toilet, as the University of Arizona (USA) warns. A fact corroborated by a study by the University of Barcelona (Spain), which inspected homes and came to the conclusion that the sink can contain 100,000 times more germs than the bathroom.

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Remember the boring mother and never let dishes pile up. And not only the dishes, but the sink itself deserves to be washed daily. You can use a mild detergent and warm water to clean faucets, drains, edges and countertops. Finally, pour hot water down the drain to avoid the bad smell.

Once a week, it is recommended to wash the sink with a mixture of 60 ml of lemon juice and a teaspoon of bicarbonate, which should act on the surface for 10 minutes and be washed with hot water. To sanitize the drain, just half a cup of bicarbonate with 60 ml of lemon juice and then a glass of white vinegar.

The habit of using the dishwashing sponge until it falls apart is not healthy at all. An article with content approved by the Bahia School of Medicine and Public Health warns of the amount of bacteria that a simple kitchen sponge can have: 10 million. They can cause the same damage to health as the sink with accumulated dishes.

Another important care is not to keep a trash can over the sink, for the same reasons: proliferation of bacteria. The “practical” damp cloth that we sometimes leave on the sink is another playground for the worms. Prefer a small squeegee to dry the countertop.

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Ideal is to have a sponge for glasses, another one for dishes and one more for cleaning the stove. Before use, pour hot water on the sponge and after that too. When you finish the task, squeeze the sponge well to remove as much water as possible. Change the sponge weekly.

Let’s vacuum the house, vacuuming… Until the device is full until it can’t anymore. Then we empty the collection bag and we think everything is going great. The vacuum, however, is another place that is particularly conducive to the proliferation of bacteria, including the dreaded Escherichia coli, which can cause infections in the digestive system, urinary tract, skin, and other parts of the body.

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The ideal is to clean the dust bag, directly in the trash can, after each use of the vacuum cleaner. The device’s moving parts also deserve attention, as a lot of dirt usually accumulates in the pipes and flexible hose. They must be washed on the outside with a sponge, water and soap.

For internal washing, the best method is to use a garden hose, with a strong jet, to remove more difficult build-up (such as hair tangles) that can obstruct the passage of air. The collection bag, if made of cloth, must be washed with soap and water every 15 days.

The rubbers on the fridge and freezer doors are a great invention, as they help the appliance to remain tightly closed. But have you ever done an inspection to see what state your rubber is in? Well, we open and close the fridge several times a day and we don’t always pay attention to this detail.

The inner part of the rubber accordion is a delightful haven for bacteria and mold. Mold even spreads out and into the fridge with every opening and closing, and its spores can contaminate the air you breathe and the food you store inside. From there to an intestinal infection, for example, it’s a leap.

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The ideal is to clean the entire refrigerator (not just the rubber) every 15 or 20 days. Dish detergent is a good ally in everyday cleaning…