(3 minute read, written by Julie, 26.05.2021)
As some of you know, I am doing a degree in science. A lot of people ask "Why?", well there are many reasons, but part of what got me interested was cleaning.
I have always been a 'clean freak' from back as far as I can remember, my mum used to get frustrated when she would come home and things had been hidden (tidied) away, but I loved the feeling it gave me to see her face when the house was sparkling - frustration or not.
As I got older, I became interested in microbes and how our cleaning products actually work - fitting given the current COVID-19 outbreak - but it got me thinking 'what is the science behind it all?'
How do they work?
That all depends on the product. Ready to get sciency?!
Detergents have a water-loving part and water-hating part. This allows them to react with grease and form micelles - little grease bubbles in the water. Inside these, the grease is broken down further into smaller pieces and washed away with the water. They also help with surface tension of the water - making it... well... be better at being water.
Many other household products are either acidic (low pH) or basic (high pH). Typical components include citric acid, vinegar, alkalies made from soluble salts - e.g. baking soda, ammonia, caustic soda, bleaches that contain chlorine and sanitisers that contain alcohol, whilst polishes contain spirit solvent.
Many of them will disrupt microbial cell walls and proteins in the process causing them to rupture, making the environment they were on - your kitchen surfaces - unfavourable, and Voila!
Interestingly, I once did an experiment testing several brands of cleaner on a petri dish inoculated with E.coli, the cheapest (39p) brown disinfectant was the winner by far - which just goes to show its not the cost of a product that determines a cleaning products' effectiveness.
Hidden dangers
Knowing how these products work on a chemical level now means I can stay safe and advise others on their product usage. However, pre-cleaning company, this wasn't always the case.
I heard a story from a friend of mine that she had once mixed two commonly found cleaning chemicals - lemon cream cleaner, and household bleach. She had doused her bathtub in cream cleaner and then put some bleach around the tiling - the bits where black mould tends to grow - and left it to sit, leaving the room and closing the door for 30 minutes.
As the bleach had trickled down into the tub, it mixed in with the cream cleaner and started off a chemical reaction to produce chlorine gas. If you know your history, you'll know this is a deadly gas which was used in the first world war.
Bleach contains sodium hypochlorite which, when reacted with water, will form an acid. If mixed with a product containing acid, it will make chlorine gas. In fact, even inhaling neat bleach will cause a reaction as soon as it hits your mucus lined airways. When bleach is mixed with alcohols, it will also produce chloroform - commonly seen in spy movies to put someone to sleep!!
Needless to say, when my friend re-entered the room, she had unwillingly created her very own gas chamber, her breathing became difficult, she was lightheaded, her chest became tight and she ended up at the hospital with acute lung injury. Fortunately, she was given humidified oxygen along with B-adrenergic therapy and recovered, but around 1% don't and will die from respiratory failure.
Unintentional poisoning
I always used to add bleach to my mop bucket, with a cocktail of other products for a nice scent, but even that could have produced reactive oxygen species in my lungs. What do they do? Alarmingly, they can damage your DNA in your airways, a factor in tumour formation. How many of us put bleach down the toilet, then an hour later used the toilet and forgotten it has bleach in it. This creates the same reaction, too - at lower levels, but in a small child's lungs, this could be doing serious damage.
Be SAFE!
Always read the labels, don't mix products unless you really know the science, open windows when cleaning. During the pandemic, chemical poisonings have surged worldwide following inappropriate use of cleaning products. Chile reported a 60% rise, while the USA reported a 20% rise. Anxiety around COVID has meant we have all been doing the extra spot of cleaning but just be aware of the damage it can cause, and if in doubt, read the label or speak to your cleaner for advice.
We are currently accepting new clients. Call us on 07825 226231 or email tidyandshineclean@gmail.com for more information and give yourself the gift of time.
Want to work for us? Contact Julie at tidyandshineclean@gmail.com