🧼 Spring Cleaning: Safety Tips for a Fresh Start
Spring is the perfect time to refresh your home and workspace! But before diving in, consider these safety tips for handling chemicals, avoiding strain, and creating a healthier environment.
Fresh Air, longer daylight, flowers and trees budding have us wanting our homes and work areas to feel fresh too?
In our eagerness to clear those dusty corners, it’s easy to overlook the hazards that come with cleaning tasks. To make this process safer and easier, follow these simple tips:
Start with a plan. Before launching into a cleaning session, think about what you want to accomplish and what you’ll need to get the job done safely. Ask yourself:
Do I have the necessary supplies?
Will I need to reach any high or low places?
Will I need assistance moving heavy objects and, if so, will any helpers be available?
Gather the right tools. Once you’ve got a plan, make sure you have the tools necessary to clean without hurting your back, neck or shoulders.
Use a stepstool or ladder to reach higher places, or something to sit on if you’ll be low to the floor.
Choose the lightest tools available to avoid unnecessary strain.
When cleaning in high or hard-to-reach places, any tool that extends your reach, such as a stepladder or a sponge with a pole attachment, can be a huge help.
Respect household chemicals. Cleaning chemicals can be dangerous if used carelessly.
· Follow label directions that fine print on the back of the package will tell you how to work with a household cleaner safely and effectively.
· Make sure the room you’re cleaning is well-ventilated.
In case of unintentional exposure, call the national Poison Help Hotline (800-222-1222), or 911.
Don’t mix household chemicals – especially anything containing bleach. The wrong combinations can produce dangerous (and even deadly) reactions or vapors.
Listen to your body. Spring cleaning may call for more physical exertion and repetitive motions than usual. Stay alert for warning signs that you’re working your body in ways you’ll regret tomorrow, such as loss of balance, muscle fatigue or abnormal sensations such as numbness or tingling down your arm. Make sure you take time before, during and after a task to stretch the muscles used to help avoid pain, strain and sprain injuries.
