Current:Home > NewsMixing cleaning products can create chemical warfare gas: The Cleantok hacks to avoid -NextFrontier Finance
Mixing cleaning products can create chemical warfare gas: The Cleantok hacks to avoid
View
Date:2025-04-14 19:17:21
- Some TikTok cleaning hacks can be dangerous for your health and your belongings.
- Experts say to avoid overloading your toilet with cleaning products, running water through toasters and filling your air fryer with soapy water.
- Other popular CleanTok hacks to approach with caution include couch cleaning with a pot lid microfiber towel and Tide Pods and filling your toilet tank with Fabuloso.
The plethora of cleaning videos on TikTok can be mesmerizing and inspiring, from scrubbing ASMR to novel hacks for #SundayReset.
Some of those hacks can be used for regular spring cleaning, as one professional house cleaner previously told USA TODAY. She has been sprinkling baking soda on upholstery and mattresses to draw out odors for years (and she lets the kids jump on the bed to help!)
But experts say that a few of the #CleanTok trends have gone too far, and can even be dangerous for your health and your belongings.
Here are a few #CleanTok hacks to avoid, according to House Digest experts:
More:We tried these easy cleaning hacks and they're life-changing
Overloading your toilet with cleaning products
Some Tiktokers get creative and artistic with the #ToiletOverload trend, mixing powders and colorful liquids in the toilet bowl.
Mixing cleaning products at all can be dangerous, as the chemical combinations can release harmful gasses.
According to the National Capital Poison Center:
- Mixing bleach and ammonia makes chloramine gas, which causes coughing.
- Mixing bleach with an acidic cleaner releases chlorine gas, which was used as a chemical warfare agent in World War I.
Even if you're wearing a mask, jamming your toilet with chemicals could be bad for your plumbing.
"Flushing an excessive amount of cleaning products down your toilet can result in you having to call a professional plumber to fix the damage caused by it," Joseph Wade, vice president of operations at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing told House Digest. "An excessive amount of chemicals can not only clog but also damage the pipes that they pass through."
Using water to clean your cooking appliances
House Digest said some people have been running water through toasters to clean them. But doing so can damage electrical components, and become a safety hazard, Katie Dills of The Cleaning Authority told House Digest.
Some TikTok videos also suggest filling the cooking compartment of an air fryer with soapy water and turning it on as a self-cleaning method.
"That's just a way to get soapy water into the fan system and destroy your air fryer, said TikToker and House Digest expert and TikToker Carly Castro.
Other popular CleanTok hacks to approach with caution
According to House Digest, these are the other popular CleanTok hacks that homeowners should approach with caution.
- Couch cleaning with a pot lid microfiber towel and Tide Pods. Check to ensure you're using the proper cleaning agent that won't damage the fabric.
- Do not fill your toilet tank with Fabuloso or any other all-purposes cleaners.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- The U.S. ratifies treaty to phase down HFCs, gases trapping 1,000x more heat than CO2
- Climate Tipping Points And The Damage That Could Follow
- The Scorpion Renaissance Is Upon Us
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- More than 100 people are dead and dozens are missing in storm-ravaged Philippines
- Impact investing, part 1: Money, meet morals
- Inside Aaron Carter’s Rocky Journey After Child Star Success
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- At least 50 are dead and dozens feared missing as storm hits the Philippines
Ranking
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Tom Pelphrey Gives a Rare Look Inside His “Miracle” Life With Kaley Cuoco and Newborn Daughter Matilda
- Tom Pelphrey Gives a Rare Look Inside His “Miracle” Life With Kaley Cuoco and Newborn Daughter Matilda
- Andrew Lloyd Webber Dedicates Final Broadway Performance of Phantom of the Opera to Late Son Nick
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- How King Charles III's Coronation Program Incorporated Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
- It's going to be hard for Biden to meet this $11 billion climate change promise
- Here's how far behind the world is on reining in climate change
Recommendation
DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
Denise Richards Is Returning to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Find Out What She Revealed
Big Brother’s Taylor Hale and Joseph Abdin Break Up
Camila Cabello Shares Glimpse Into Her Coachella Trip After Shawn Mendes Kiss
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
Sephora Beauty Director Melinda Solares Shares Her Step-by-Step Routine Just in Time for the Spring Sale
Vanderpump Rules' Ariana Joked About Being in a Throuple With Tom and Raquel Before Affair News
Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $360 Satchel Bag for Just $89