The Danger of Cleaning Hacks
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As a business owner, you might think, “Wow. These cleaning can be helpful to do and it can save me money.” Which can be really beneficial, but you should be very careful and here’s why.
The pandemic made “cleaning hacks” trend on social media because cleaning became more important than ever. People are experimenting with ways to make cleaning easier. Now, experiment, in general, are good but the outcomes are not always preferable.
Cleaning involves health and safety
One small mistake can put health and safety at risk, not to mention damage to property.
Most cleaning equipment and cleaning materials are dangerous if not used as intended, especially cleaning agents.
There is one example of a cleaning hack that sparked debate that involves placing dishwashing liquid on the toilet compartment to keep the toilet smelling clean.
Although some people thought it was great, it received pushback from plumbers who said it can ruin some of the rubbers in the toilet system.
The person who came up with this hack didn’t have ulterior motives when publishing it. It seemed good sense to mix soap and toilets. Still, there’s a reason why we flush with plain water.
These “hacks” were published for entertainment
Now, it isn’t trivial that the hacks became viral. There is something to it that made thousands of people want to share it in the first place.
The main reason these hacks get shared isn’t credibility or effectiveness. It’s mainly shared because it’s an unconventional idea and it’s fascinating. It’s more entertaining than factual. People share it to “amaze” their friends like they were amazed.
Quite a few social media accounts and pages count on this and they produce “hacks” with viral potential, like melting candy for caramel apples and planting roses in potatoes… None of them work but they look good and fascinating on video.
“Hacks” usually aren’t made by experts
Exploitative social media pages aside, many of those who share these cleaning hacks are just everyday people trying to solve problems in an unconventional way. Which is great because people are still being creative and innovative even while being stuck at home.
However there is always value to having facts or processes coming from experts in the field. They know what will work and what won’t, in effectiveness and health and safety.
A great example of a well-intentioned but misguided cleaning hack: using car wax on your cooktop to make cleaning easier. While it definitely polishes your cooktop, that wax burns when you cook, and not only is it a fire hazard, the fumes produced are toxic. Not something you want in your food.
Despite the claims of people –that are not experts– who tested “safe” cleaning hacks, their tests aren’t scientific enough to make a conclusion. And usually they just test the cleaning hack if it works, not its other potential effects.
So we highly recommend being very careful in trying out these cleaning hacks or better yet, hire a cleaning expert.
And if you’re in need of cleaning experts, look no further than Team Grime! Contact us now, and let certified and experienced cleaning professionals take care of your cleaning needs.