In This Post:
– Uses for Household Bleach
– Precautions When Using Bleach
Bleach is one of the most common household products. Everybody has it, but not many people know the amazing benefits of using bleach. This chemical helps whiten laundry, however, you would be amazed to know that there are many other uses for household bleach.
During the coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan, when a lot of people are practising social distancing to slow down the spread of the illness, many people are searching for home cleaning tips. But don’t worry! Here are some of the best ways to disinfect your house using bleach.
Let’s get started!
Common Uses for Household Bleach
There are various tips to disinfect your house using bleach. Here’s a list for your consideration:
- Disinfect children’s toys
- Sanitise toilet bowl
- As a disinfectant spray
- Clean kitchen utensils
- Whiten bathroom tiles
- Clean garden furniture
- Disinfect floor
- For sparkling glassware
- Disinfect garbage bin
Now, let’s discuss each of these points one by one for clearer understanding.
Disinfect children’s toys
As most mothers would know, babies and toddlers have a habit of putting toys in their mouth. Children do not mind playing around in the dirt. They don’t really care as to how many times their favourite toy has rolled in the mud and is probably covered in germs. While this carefree approach towards life is enviable, it can increase chances of catching different diseases.
The best strategy that you could adopt to maintain clean toys for your baby is to wash non-absorbing ones with soap and water and then disinfect them. Use a germ-busting bleach solution to clean and disinfect baby toys. Dilute concentrated bleach in water and make a safe-to-use disinfecting solution to remove germs from baby toys.
Leave the toys dipped in the disinfecting bleach solution. Wipe off excess water and air dry the toys. Make this a regular practice to ensure that your child doesn’t catch any viral infections or other diseases from germs.
As a disinfectant spray
One of the many uses for household bleach is to use it as a disinfectant. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended using a disinfectant spray to kill coronavirus germs instantly. This is how you can make your own DIY disinfectant spray:
Take around five tablespoons, or 1/3rd cup of bleach per gallon of water or use 4 teaspoons of bleach per quart of water. Fill this mixture in a spray bottle and use it as a disinfectant spray to ward off coronavirus germs from frequently-touched surfaces. Make sure you wear protective gloves while using bleach as a disinfectant.
Sanitise toilet bowl
Dirty bathrooms serve as a breeding ground for germs, viruses and bacteria. In order to maintain a clean bathroom, it is important to not only clean it but also make sure to disinfect the bathroom so as to kill all kinds of germs. You will find numerous disinfectants in the market. However, disinfecting your bathroom doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot on cleaning products. Regular bleach comes to the rescue here as well!
This is one inexpensive way of disinfecting your home. All you need to do is first wash the bathroom thoroughly, especially the insides of the toilet bowl with a toilet brush. Use the DIY disinfectant spray (five tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water) and sprinkle on the toilet bowl and its surrounding areas. Using a brush scrub it well and leave it for 15 minutes then flush the toilet. This method keeps away germs completely.
Clean kitchen utensils
Bleach is not only used to whiten laundry, but you can also clean the tea stains and other tough stains from kitchen utensils. Dip your tea mugs in a bleach solution and keep it soaked for half an hour.
Use a sponge to rub off the stains and then rinse it clean. Always wear protective gloves while handling bleach.
Whiten bathroom tiles
One of the many uses of bleach in house cleaning is to brighten bathroom surfaces, while busting germs at the same time. Make sure your bathroom windows are open and it is well-ventilated. Switch on the exhaust fan as well.
If you start pouring the bleach solution in a closed space, the emitting fumes might be dangerous for your respiratory system. Scrub off the bathroom tiles with the diluted bleach solution, comprising 5 tablespoons of the chemical per gallon of water, and then rinse it clean. This is, hands down, one of the easiest ways you can sanitise the bathroom using bleach.
Clean garden furniture
Among the various uses for household bleach is cleaning your outdoor furniture. If you have plastic chairs in your terrace or in your garden then you can easily clean them using diluted bleach. It not only restores the original colour but also removes mould and mildew from your outdoor garden furniture.
Disinfect the floor
If you have children at home, disinfecting and sanitising floors become really important. You can’t really stop children from rolling on the floor, which is, more often than not, crawling with germs that you can’t see? This means your child is quite likely playing on a bed of disease-causing germs.
There is one inexpensive way of disinfecting your home. Pour some bleach in water with which you mop the floor. This will help in sanitising your home from viruses and bacteria. Disinfecting floors is one of the best uses for household bleach.
For sparkling glassware
If you are washing windows, adding a few drops of bleach to water can help keep your windows sparkling clean. Similarly, when cleaning glass or any crystal object, using a bleach-soaked sponge can instantly make your goblets and glasses sparkle, while at the same time disinfecting them.
Disinfect garbage bin
Dirty garbage cans are always full of germs. Even if you regularly discard garbage, it is important to wash and disinfect the trash bin to kill germs and infection causing viruses. Add some detergent, water and a little amount of bleach in your garbage can and wash it with a brush. Air dry the trash bin before using it again.
Precautions for Using Household Bleach
You need to be extra careful while handling bleach. It is, after all, a mixture of different chemicals. Using bare hands is a big no-no. It is also important to keep it out of children’s reach. It is actually poisonous if you consume it. There are many other safety precautions that you should take before using bleach for cleaning purposes. Let’s take a look:
- Keep the bleach container away from children and pets
- Always use protective rubber gloves
- Make sure the room is well-ventilated, as the fumes emitting can be poisonous
- Never mix bleach with any other cleaning agent as it can release toxic gas which can be harmful for you
- Check out if you have any allergies with bleach
- Never pour bleach directly into the plumbing system as it can damage your pipes and the septic system
- Always switch on the exhaust fan if you are cleaning the kitchen or bathroom
- Whenever cleaning the house with bleach, open up the windows to allow fresh air
- Don’t allow children or any asthma patient inside the room where you are cleaning with bleach
So, these were some of the tips to disinfect your house using bleach. You can also check out some of our cleaning tips to disinfect your house during the coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan.
If you’re looking for information regarding coronavirus testing in Pakistan, don’t forget to check out our blog on the topic. If you can’t find any hand sanitizer in stores, check out this CDC recommended homemade hand sanitiser recipe that you can make on your own.
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