7 When You Should Not Use Hot or Boiling Water When Cleaning

You may have heard of this tip before: if your kitchen drain is clogged, you should pour a pan of boiling water into it – this will help dissolve the grease blockage. However, everything is not so simple: the trick can only aggravate the situation. The fact is that the melted mixture will eventually penetrate deeper into the pipes, where it will harden again, and it will be much more difficult for the plumber to get to a new place. So, a blockage in the sink is one of the cases where you cannot use boiling water for cleaning: you need another product.

How to do it right: in this case, cleaning without boiling water begins with prevention – use grease-dissolving agents for washing dishes. If the pipes are still clogged, either use a special product to clean them, or pour a glass of soda into the drain hole, fill it with two glasses of heated vinegar, wait an hour or two and flush the pipes with water. ‘Hot water.

Vinegar and hot water make a great tandem: together they can work wonders. However, if you are using commercial products, it is best to prioritize cleaning without using high temperatures: hot water can deactivate harsh ingredients in ready-to-use products, preventing them from doing their job of removing dirt .

How correctly: use hot water if you prefer soda, vinegar or citric acid. If you think you need bleach, read the label instructions: you will almost certainly find restrictions on using hot water when cleaning. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations to get the most out of the product you purchase.

Washing parquet or laminate flooring is another situation in which you should not use hot water when cleaning. When hardwood floors are exposed to high temperatures and humidity simultaneously, the floorboards expand and then contract, eventually becoming warped. Additionally, hot water can damage the material’s coating. As a result, floors will lose the luster and shine that we value so much.

How correctly: favor safe cleaning methods without hot water – use lukewarm or cold water, to which a product suitable for your floor type has been added. In the case of parquet, minimize the amount of liquid – the cloth should be slightly damp.

It is recommended to use boiling water not only in case of blockages: it is believed to help cope with unpleasant odors coming from kitchen and bathroom pipes. However, thinking this way is a big mistake: boiling water is dangerous for PVC pipes – it leads to their expansion and contraction, which is why cracks appear in the plastic over time. So pipe disinfection is another situation where you cannot use boiling water for cleaning.

How correctly: Use safe cleaning methods without boiling water – for example, the vinegar and soda trick. Remember that you cannot pour the water from pasta or potatoes into the sink immediately after cooking them: you must either wait for them to cool or turn on the cold water tap at the same time.

Professional cleaners believe that deep cleaning of the refrigerator should be done once or twice a month: you should remove the shelves and drawers and wash them thoroughly. You probably know how much easier hot water removes dried crumbs and liquid stains: when you use it, they soak almost instantly.

We have good news: in this case, there is no need to look for cleaning methods that do not require hot water. Remember one simple rule: allow glass shelves and plastic drawers to reach room temperature before washing them by hand or putting them in the dishwasher.

Surprisingly, but true: it turns out that it is not necessary to wash dishes with hot water. A study by researchers at Ohio State University found that a temperature of 30°C and detergent is enough to remove grease and bacteria. (The exception, according to the study, would be “severe cases” such as powdered milk stains.)

How correctly: If you care about the skin of your hands and your manicure, it is better to wash the dishes in warm water (or better yet, in the dishwasher).

Also read: 10 most common mistakes when washing dishes: the opinion of professional cleaners

Yes, yes, we know that defrosting chicken has nothing to do with eco-friendly cleaning methods. However, it is better to avoid high temperatures: hot water creates a significant difference between the outer layer and the inner part. As a result, while the meat is thawing near the bone, E. coli and salmonella bacteria are already beginning to actively multiply on the skin, and if cooking does not kill them (and when cooking this is quite possible), you risk poisoning.

The destruction of an anthill also has an indirect connection with the restoration of order, but we nevertheless cannot help but mention that in this case using boiling water is a bad idea. The fact is that water, as a rule, does not harm the uterus, but destroys everything in the soil, from plants to the soil microbiome. As a result, the lawn may become bald and it will take a lot of effort to repair it.

How correctly: Use cleaning methods that don’t require boiling water, such as calling an exterminator or setting up bait stations.

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