Cleaning products are used basically for cleaning things, ranging from surfaces to clothes. They are used to safely and efficiently get rid of germs, mold, dust and to also prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Cleaning products contain various kinds of chemical agents such as chlorine, which helps in cleaning. A lot of home cleaners contain chlorine which is a toxic, yellow-green gas. Chemical agents in cleaning products help in loosening or breaking down stains and making material or surface simpler to clean.
Another thing Chlorine does is that it also helps in decontaminating materials and surfaces, this what makes them very popular.
Some of the household cleaning products that contain chlorine include chlorine bleach, scouring powder, toilet bowl cleaner, automatic dishwashing detergents, chlorinated disinfectant cleaner, some laundry detergents, and mildew removers.
You have to be very cautious when using cleaning products that contain chlorine, always read the label on the products, this helps you know how to use the product correctly in order to avoid accidents.
Cleaning Products That Contains Chlorine
Below are some cleaning product that contains chlorine
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Chlorine Bleach
Being a strong corrosive substance, bleach can affect the respiratory system if inhaled. Bleach can also irritate or burn the skin and eyes. Ingesting bleach can cause pulmonary edema or vomiting and coma. Wearing rubber gloves and a dust mask when using bleach is strongly recommended
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Scouring Powder
Scouring powder is a household cleaning product that is basically a mixture of abrasive powder, soda, detergent, and dry bleach. Not all scouring powder contains dry bleach, those that do such as soft scrub with bleach, are said to be chlorinated.
Scouring powder is used to clean deposits on thick surfaces such as pots, toilet bowls, baking grills, ceramic tiles, pans, grills, bathtubs,s and other bathroom fixtures, and porcelain sinks.
To use scouring powder just rub it over the hard surface with just a little water and gently rub. The abrasive powder is what cuts into the stain and removes it. After rubbing rinse the abrasive powder off.
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Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Some toilet bowl cleaners such as Clorox contain chlorine bleach and this is because it helps to get rid of tough stains and kill 99.9% of bacteria in the toilet bowl.
Bleach in toilet bowl cleaners helps in taking down hard water stains, mineral deposits and stops them from clinging to the toilet bowl.
Cleaning your toilet with a toilet bowl cleaner that contains chlorine sanitizes your toilet in 5 minutes and leaves you with a sparkling clean toilet bowl for some months.
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Automatic Dishwashing Detergent
Automatic dishwashers represent an enormous saving in time and labor; they reduce breakage through reduced handling of dishes; they help keep the kitchen neater and less cluttered, and makes cleanup after use so easy. These are benefits that have much appeal to consumers.
Chlorine in automatic dishwashing detergent helps in purifying, helps make protein soils like egg and milk soluble, helps in removing coffee or tea stains, and in lessening spotting of glassware.
The advantages of an automatic dishwasher can only be discovered if they are used correctly. As a user, you have to understand how your dishwasher works and the right way to load it, including its features.
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Chlorinated disinfectant cleaner
Hypochlorous acid (HOCL) is the most effective disinfectant in the chlorine family available in dilute solution. HOCL is said to be better than other chlorine-based disinfectants because it has no charge and has a relatively low molecular weight and it can easily penetrate the cell walls.
It also responds more quickly than other chlorine-based disinfectants to oxidation effects with organic matter.
While hypochlorite ion is a rather low disinfectant because of its incapacity to penetrate the cell wall. Hypochlorite is negatively charged which makes it electrostatically resisted from the cell walls, which are also negatively charged. Hypochlorite diffuse is slower than the Hypochlorous as it is bigger in size.
Bleach/sodium or calcium hypochlorite and Sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC) are examples of chlorine
There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to using a chlorinated based disinfectant.
Some of the advantages include;
- Hypochlorites are broad-spectrum (sporicidal)
- They react quickly
- They are not flammable
- They are cheap
- They are widely accessible
- They can lower biofilms
Some of the disadvantages include;
- They are influenced by environmental factors
- They are inactivated by organic material.
- They are highly toxic, and can emit toxic chlorine when mixed with some chemicals like ammonia.
- It can cause skin and mucous membrane irritation.
- They are not good for cloths and carpets, as they can damage them
- They have an odor that is not so pleasant.
- Laundry detergents
Laundry detergents are one cleaning product that virtually everyone uses and there is no shortage of new ones continually coming to market. An example of chlorine-based laundry detergent is Tide Plus Bleach Powder.
Tide Plus Bleach Powder laundry detergent lightens your whites and colors. It uses active enzymes to breaks down tough stains and whitens whites without chlorine bleach.
- Mildew removers.
Mold can be lethal and difficult to remove. Mold and mildew are sore to the eyes and they can be harmful to your health. An example is RMR-86 Instant Mold and Mildew remover.
Benefits of Using Cleaning Products That Contains Chlorine
Chlorinated cleaners are popular for some reasons.
Let’s take a look at the benefits of chlorinated cleaning products when used safely and properly;
- It is used for bleaching or whitening cloths
- It disinfects clothes and surfaces, thereby preventing the spread of infectious diseases
- It can help protect us from seasonal flu
- It keeps the environment free from pathogens
Dangers Of Using Cleaning Products That Contains Chlorine
- Bleach causes severe burns to skin, eyes, and in a vapor form, will cause severe and acute burns to the lungs and mucous membranes.
- Very severe cases of inhalation of chlorine gas can cause pulmonary edema;
- Chlorine bleach can ruin a surface.
- Mix it with an acid and it makes chlorine gas – highly toxic.
- It damages surfaces often surfaces you wouldn’t think it can, like concrete, stones and steel
- It doesn’t clean at all since it isn’t a detergent and manufacturers can’t put it into detergent products because of the potential for making chlorine
- It won’t remove scale from a shower or a toilet – it just bleaches.
- It damages fabrics even when used as bleach since it weakens the fabric
- It bleaches wood so splashes cannot be removed
- It does not remove mold stains from grout or sealant or walls, just bleaches the wall paint or paper.
- It is horrible to smell when you do use it
- It is not a good disinfectant at all. It takes well over 20 minutes to work and then has very mixed results
- It kills you if you drink it
- It causes severe burns if it’s splashed on to skin or eyes.
Symptoms Of Chlorine Poisoning.
You can get poisoned while using cleaning products that contain chlorine as a result of exposure to the chlorine. In mild to moderate chlorine poisoning, you might have the following symptoms;
Moderate Chlorine Poisoning
- Immediate irritation in the eye
- Irritation in the nose
- Irritation in the throat
- Coughing pangs
- Vomiting
- Hoarse voice
- Chest ache
- Suffocating feeling
High Chlorine Poisoning
Here all the symptoms above are present in addition to the following;
- Dizziness
- Revulsion
- Headache
Note – Get professional help immediately when you are exposed to high chlorine poisoning.
Caution To Observe While Using Cleaning Product That Contains Chlorine
Below are some things you can do or should to be able to maximize your cleaning products that contain chlorine with little to no accidents:
- Make sure the place you are cleaning with these products is well ventilated.
- Avoiding breathing in vapor or gas or mist.
- Spend little time while using the products.
- Protect your skin, eyes, and nose from the fumes by wearing protective gear such as gloves, goggles, etc.
- Do not flush the chemical down the drain.
- Keep these cleaning products that contain chlorine away from flames.
- Always clean your hands after use to avoid cross-contamination.
- Don’t ever keep your chlorinated cleaner close to your food.
- Mixing chlorine with acid or ammonia is a very bad idea, don’t do it for anything.
- After use, properly dispose of the container don’t reuse it.
- Try not to remove the label until you finish using the cleaner and you are ready to dispose of the container.
- Very important, keep your cleaning products out of children and pets’ reach.
A clean home reduces exposure to allergens, pesticides, consumer chemicals, and pest droppings and urine, and reduces shelter for pests. While it is important to keep your home clean to provide a healthy environment, cleaning product labels often display complex chemical terms.
Additionally, commercial advertisements may exaggerate the performance of cleaning products. Therefore, to make informed decisions when comparing product performance and safety, consumers need to be familiar with the most common ingredients found in cleaning products.
By this, you can be safe from unnecessary product hypes and invariably, wrong choices.
