One silly mistake with cleaning products

[OneSillyMistake]

A warning, or plea, to everyone to be extra careful with caustic cleaning products such as oven cleaners like Mr Muscle, Oven Pride etc.

My young cousin, mid 20s was cleaning her oven with these types of products, she was very careful with long gloves but didnt realise some had dripped onto her slippers until it started to feel tingly and she then immediately washed off.

Long story short she has spent a lot of time on the burns unit over the last 6 months, she has had repeated failed skin grafts, tendons removed from her foot. It started to look as though her foot was healing and grafts finally taking when she got another infection and has now recently had to have toes amputated.

I personally won't be having those types of products in my home again. If you do use be aware it is not just your hands/arms you need to protect.

That's really tragic. So sorry for your niece.

We clean with white vinegar, baking soda and a small occasional amount of bleach in the bathroom. No toxins.

Oven cleaners are strong alkalis. they are far more insidious than acids which cause instant pain when in contact with skin.

Use them at your peril

How awful and such an important warning. I'm so sorry for your niece.

I always pay someone to clean mine as I'm so wary of strong chemicals. Worth every penny.

It's awful, and there seems to be a trend lately for videos of people mixing cleaners which scares the life out of me.

Really hope she's okay. ❤️

Oh that's awful! I left a bottle of loo cleaner on a marble fireplace once and it kind of etched the surface. I was much more careful after that.

I also accidentally mixed two products together and created some sort of toxic gas - couldn't understand why my chest was burning. It was very scary.

Your poor cousin, I hope that this will be the end of the procedures she needs and she makes a speedy recovery.

That is awful for your cousin, I hope she recovers soon. I now pay for a professional to come and clean the oven, definitely worth it, especially with children in the house.

100% this. Someone I know had a similar experience after a small splash on their arm with Oven Pride. I won't have it in the house. We pay £60 every year for a guy to come in to do it who doesn't use caustic chemicals.

That is awful. I am so sorry for your young cousin.

This is why we get someone in to do the oven every now and again, I don't trust myself not to mishandle oven cleaners.
Years ago I got a tiny splash of dilute oven cleaner foam into my eye at work, my boss got me an eyewash from the first aid kit immediately but it hurt like hell for ages. Fortunately no long term damage.

Goodness that's awful 😞

That's awful

I am also on the pay someone side, he uses vinegar, method products and no harsh chemicals and it costs me about £45 (NW)
Then I use a liner to keep it as clean as possible

I haven't used products like these for years, but I wouldn't touch them again now. I clean my own oven, just brillos and vinegar. It's not sparkling or anything!

Apparently using abrasives like Pink Stuff paste can make the oven glass shatter, if social media is to be believed, but I don't think it's intended for that purpose anyway.

Your poor niece, OP. How awful for her.

I never use them because I know someone who was also badly burned by Mr Muscle over cleaner, it dripped down the inside of her rubber glove and caused horrendous damage.

I largely use vinegar now for cleaning. You do have to be careful not to mix it with bleach, but as long as you are vaguely sensible it's fine.

I have never found anything as good as Oven Pride for cleaning my oven though (not that I clean it very often!)

Blimey, your poor niece.

Thanks for the warning. My oven is never the cleanest and certainly won’t be now!

Hope she’s nearly at the end of her treatment now xx

Gosh, I'm sorry for her x

I'm another who pays to have the oven cleaned. We pay just over a fiver a month to curry's for product insurance but this also includes a once-a-year 'valet' - they do an amazing job and it means i don't have to worry about chemicals

I used to work at the head office for a large furniture chain. We had to ban bleach from the supplies list due to the amount of times staff mixed it with other stuff and accidentally created Chlorine Gas. If you add water into that - you get hydrochloric or hypochlorous acids.

none of them are what you want to be inhaling or touching.

so toilet cleaner and bleach for minging store toilets caused many an evacuation and hospital stays for some staff.

honestly even when folks read the warnings in bottles it’s like they treat them as a ‘suggestion ‘.

oven cleaner cans etc tell you how toxic it is. People just don’t read it.

That's awful. I actually had no idea that could happen so thanks for posting.

How awful - I hope your cousin recovers as well as possible.

I’m another one who doesn’t have toxic cleaning products like this in the house. A friend was burnt on the hands with bleach - it’s just not worth the risk. We have a cleaner and it’s even in her contract that she won’t use bleach due to the risk. I have all eco products. Our cleaner doesn’t do the oven but I’ve cleaned it effectively myself using a paste of bicarbonate of soda.

Similar incident here -

www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/19291862.amp/

Your poor relative I'm so sorry. I've experienced something similar in that I'm very large chested and leant in to clean the remainder out after wiping most out... Burnt just above my nipple. I'm lucky in that I'd wiped most out already and I felt it get wet immediately so took the top off and rinsed the area well. Still very irritated for a good week and a layer of skin burnt off. Never used them again.

I hope your cousin is doing well xx

I use Oven Pride.

But I also always wear good footwear in the kitchen, rather than slippers. It's not just using strong chemicals that's a danger, there's dropping ovenware, knives, hot oil, tins or glasses and tripping over the cat. I do this because of various jobs where I'd see the sort of accidents that could happen to people who thought they didn't need safety equipment/processes based upon years of other people's bitter experiences.

DIY, Gardening, cleaning and cooking are the most dangerous things you can do at home short of taking up indoor lion taming or building flamethrowers.

I'm sorry she has learned the lesson this way. But it doesn't mean that they have to be removed from sale.

Lots of the things we think of as "ordinary" and therefore don't give the proper respect to are really dangerous. A colleagues MIL (who had dementia) died after eating a laundry tab.

Thanks for this warning. I used Lakeland's equivalent to Oven Pride once. I was very careful to put down newspaper etc. but it's a clear gel and obviously some must have got spilt and left unnoticed. The next day DH suddenly started getting a tingly feeling in his arm and there was quite a deep burn appearing as we watched - he must have put his arm in a bit that I'd accidentally spilled on the nearby worktop. Luckily, we rinsed it off and it was treated and healed fairly well (10 years later, he has a scar but no other lasting issues). It terrifies me to think that it could've been one of my toddlers that touched it instead.

I also have a friend of a friend who spilt a similar product on her forearm and has had so many complications she's now registered disabled and unable to work as the nerve damage that occurred left her in severe agony 24/7. Even an implant in her spine to block her nerves failed to help. All from a bit of oven cleaner!

Thanks for sharing - I knew they were dangerous but had no idea how much. I'll make sure I don't use them anymore. So sorry to hear about your cousin.