Household chemicals and children safety

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Kid's Corner

So many household chemicals as cleaning products are available in the market. Sometimes one can see how inappropriately people store these chemicals when you visit someone’s home. If you have toddlers and young children who cannot obviously differentiate between the dangerous chemicals, you must take extra care in handling and storing cleaning products to keep it out of reach of children. These chemical containers are not toys. Children should never handle or play with chemical containers. It can harm you child seriously and can be fatal.

Here are safety tips to store and dispose the household chemicals.

Store all cleaning materials out of reach of both children and pets.
Install child – proof latches where you store cleaning materials – under sink cabinets, kitchen and bathroom.
Always store laundry products on high shelves to avoid any rashes on sensitive skin of child.
Before buying a product identify what type of product it is. It can be all-purpose cleaner, laundry detergent, disinfectant, bleach, cleaner etc. – Use and store them appropriately.
Do not mix and store food, syrups, medicine and cleaning products in same cabinet.
Do not keep container keep open or loose. There are incidents where children swallowed chemicals and resulted in emergency. Remember – child does not read label and they might not know what is poison unless they reach an age where you explain and they understand.
Seal the container back and store it back in its place immediately. Handle chemicals with proper equipment and wash the tool. Store away goggles, gloves and any other protective gear that meets chemicals.
Properly dispose the rags and paper towels and throw the trash immediately after cleaning.
Keep list of emergency phone numbers handy. Keep a first aid kit with emergency washing liquids.
Familiarize with the labels and be aware of the products and side effects so that in case the children come in contact – you know what you need to do.
Do not mix products that are safe when used alone and can be dangerous when mixed with other chemicals. Some chemicals can be used alone and when mixed with other chemicals can cause dangerous fumes hurting lungs and breathing.
Do not reuse an empty household cleaning chemical product container for any other purposes. Left over chemicals can react with the material which you might try to store in the container.
Read how to store and dispose the container. For store bought chemicals instructions generally will be available on the container itself or with instruction pamphlet attached to it.
All chemicals are toxic at certain level. If you are making a household cleaning mix it should also be treated like commercial cleaning product. Do not leave these chemicals unattended in front of children.

Safety of children is in parents and elders’ responsibility. Be responsible for your actions. When children reach an age where they can differentiate between good and dangerous, teach them, explain them about household products and safety. For this, get yourself educated and be cautious.

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Image credit: Image by tookapic from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)