We all use chemical-based cleaners to keep the home clean and germ-free. However, these chemicals can be dangerous to children if they get their hands on them. Brooms, mops and brushes can also cause damage in the wrong hands! We’ve collected a list of handy tips and hacks for storing home cleaning equipment in a way that minimizes risk to children.

Keep Brooms, Mops and Brushes Out of Reach of Little Hands 

Use wall space in your kitchen to ensure mops, brooms and brushes are out of reach of small children, but readily available for cleaning when you need. You can pick up cheap wall mountings or hooks in most hardware stores and install them yourself. Place them at a level that is out of reach of kids, but easily accessible to you. We recommend keeping mops and brooms near to a window or door so they can get some fresh air. This allows any moisture to dry off, and prevents bacteria from accumulating.

Organize your bathroom cupboards

Keep the bathroom cabinet neat and tidy by installing a cross-beam. You can easily make one at home using a broomstick handle or something similar. Hang bathroom and toilet cleaners from the beam to give yourself more space below for storing other products. If you have particularly harsh or abrasive cleaners in the bathroom, consider locking this cupboard, and keeping the safer bathroom items, like toothpaste and shower gel, in a bathroom storage trolley.

Maximize Kitchen Cabinet Space

As most regular kitchen cabinets usually consist of fixed shelves, cleaning products can easily get pushed to the back of the cupboard and forgotten about. One solution is to install a detachable basket on sliding rails. The basket should be big enough for your kitchen cleaning products and equipment and easy enough to remove so you can rearrange them when needed. This system makes it much simpler to keep track of what products you have, and to spot if anything has gone missing.

Make Areas of the Home Off-limits

You can make certain areas of the home where there is hazardous products or equipment ‘out of bounds’ to the kids, for example the laundry room. It probably isn’t practical to lock every single cupboard that contains cleaning products. However keeping one room locked and off-limits, then storing the most hazardous products here, is a good way to give yourself peace of mind.

Take Precautions When Ironing

A high quality iron and ironing board are worthwhile investments for safety reasons alone. Cheap models are often more unstable, making them easier to topple, and may have less secure storage points for the iron. Store your ironing board with a secure rack, rather than just leaning against the wall, so there is less chance of it falling.

Dispose of Used Containers Safely

Even after you’ve thrown away cleaning product containers, they can still pose a threat. Children can route through the trash and find the colorful containers, which may contain potentially dangerous chemicals. Rinse out the empty container before throwing them out, and for harsher chemicals, place them in a bag to add another layer of protection.

Child safety is a priority for any parent, and keeping a tidy, germ-free home is an important part of minimizing the risk of accidents or infections. We hope you find our tips for child-proofing your cleaning products storage useful!

These tips were provided by Helpling Cleaning Services, an online marketplace for finding local cleaners.