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mboston_gw

Where do you keep cleaning supplies?

mboston_gw
14 years ago

I have always kept cleaning supplies under each bathroom sink and under the kitchen sink. DH just replumbed our house and now wants me to keep them elsewhere sink he says it causes the pipes to corrode. I know he is right as he showed me the one for our kitchen faucet which wasn't that old and it was in bad shape. We were replacing it anyway because of having a new one put in for our granite install.

But I am having a problem coming up with a place that will be convenient for everything I need for all the rooms.

Comments (17)

  • marie26
    14 years ago

    Do you have a laundry room or shelving above a washer and dryer? I used to keep my cleaners there.

  • jannie
    14 years ago

    As close to where they are used as possible. Kitchen cleaners in the cabinet under the sink, bathroom cleaners in the bathroom cabinet, laundry supplies on a shelf above the washer, rug cleaners on a shelf in the family room, etc. Think about it before you store cleaners, and make sure they are not near young children and pets. My daughter once picked up a jug of bleach and took a drink. She thought it was fruit juice.

  • lazy_gardens
    14 years ago

    Unless you are keeping dried pool chlorine or leaking bottles of bleach, ammonia or acid, the pipes should be OK. Point out to him that it's not a common problem for anyone else.

    I keep a minimal cleaning kit in a plastic basket in each bath and in the kitchen: wipe towels, a spray bottle of counter cleaner, one of window cleaner. The bath kits have a bottle of toilet cleanser, and the kitchen has the dishwasher supplies and the powdered cleanser.

    The big bottles for refills are in the garage. Miscellaneous marble cleaner, silver polish, shoe polish etc is in the laundry room because it has room.

  • claire_de_luna
    14 years ago

    I moved all of mine to a wall hung wire shelving unit inside my attic stairwell. (It has a door so I don't have to see it.) The nice thing is that I don't have to bend over to peer under the sink, as it's all right there. I felt brilliant the day I decided I could use this space for something. I added another shelving unit (skinny, freestanding) to hold things like paper towels, toilet paper, trash bags, dish washing and laundry soaps/powder.

  • bspofford
    14 years ago

    I can't think of how cleaning products under the sink can cause the pipes to corrode, UNLESS they are not in sealed containers, but then they would affect the bottom of the cabinet, etc. Please enlighten us, and no offense is meant by this.

    Barbara

  • mboston_gw
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    They are all in the containers they come in. I haven't been good about closing the tops, maybe that's the problem. Have been doing so since he mentioned it. Our house is 30 years old. I use normal cleaning products, Windex, Soft and Scrub, Lysol Disinfectant Spray cleaners,
    Lysol Toliet Bowl Cleaners, Dawn, etc. No ammonia except in the windex or small amounts in others as I am sensitive to it and brings on my allergies if I use it too much. I keep them in a tote or bucket so they are not directly on the shelves and shelves are lined anyway.

  • oilpainter
    14 years ago

    I don't see how just keeping cleaning stuff under the sink would do anything unless you had something caustic under there. I have kept my cleaning stuff under the sink for over 30 years. In my mind it would be more likely have to do with what ever you clean the drains with. I use baking soda and vinegar for that.

    However peace has to be kept in the house. Get yourself a plastic container with a tight fitting lid and store them in there under the sink. If hubby thinks they can corrode the plumbing without doing anything to the box--well that's impossible

  • brutuses
    14 years ago

    I use a minimal number of cleaning varieties. I keep the two for the bath in the bath closet and the 2 for the kitchen under the kitchen sink. Other furniture polishes, etc, all 2, are in the laundry room.

    Personally I don't like anything under the sink cabinets in the bath or the kitchen because if there is a leak, it's a mess and even with pull out trays, I find it difficult to keep things organized and easy to reach.

  • gayle0000
    14 years ago

    Since I don't know much about how your household works, my first thought would be to keep your cleaning supplies in 1 tote that you can carry around from room-to-room. Where you store it...I've got no ideas since I don't live at your house.

    I am not understanding why keeping cleaning supplies under the sink can cause problems. As said above, I can see if something really strong leaks/spills and comes into contact with the pipes or wood & never gets cleaned up. Is that what happened, or is there more to it?

  • lionors
    14 years ago

    I used to keep cleaning supplies in an upper cabinet, to keep the kids safe. Then one day the kids were taller than their mom and got the supplies down for me. How did that happen?

    After we redid the kitchen, we had a narrow cabinet next to the sink. In the sink cabinet we keep the trash can and the pet food, so I didn't want the cleaners there. I found a long, narrow bin, which I can load up with cleaners. I can slide it in and out of the little cabinet, so there's no reaching into the back.

    I also keep cleaners in the bathrooms. Cleaners are kept in a linen closet or under the sink.

  • reyesuela
    14 years ago

    > he says it causes the pipes to corrode

    No, they don't.

    I keep mine in an upper cabinet. I can't put child safety locks on the sink cabs because one of the doors to the kitchen sink broke off. Because of the material it's made of and the (now no longer made) hinges required, it'd be really hard to fix. So no door until we get a new kitchen.

  • yogacat
    14 years ago

    I keep cleaning supplies as close to each point of uses as possible. Back-stock and rarely used products are in a cabinet in the laundry room.

    I'm baffled by the idea that cleaning products damage pipes by just sitting there. I haven't had that problem is 40 years. Furthermore, my mother didn't either, and her idea of a good, basic, cleaning product was Red Devil lye!! In case you've never used lye, it's highly corrosive.

  • ronbre
    14 years ago

    how many things do you really USE in the kitchen..keep small amounts of those items in the kitchen under the sink..i keep dishwasher detergent, counter wipes, dishsoap, disinfectant spray, scrubber, watering can, cleanser, and that is about it under the kitchen sink, in a plastic pull out.

    under the bathroom sink i have none, as we have a pantry beside the toilet that holds all of our bathroom cleaning supplies in our master

    guest bathroom has toilet and sink cleaning supplies, but that is about it..we just don't need that much in there.

    i use vinegar to clean the sinks in the bathrooms so just a small bottle of that is all in each.

    our other household supplies are closer to where they are used..laundry is in laundry including stain stuff..there is a rack behind the door in the laundry room with a mop, brooom, and a few dusters..etc..and one shelf has a few cleaning products to go with those..in the other end of the house a craft and cleaning closet has a behind the door rack there as well with another set of brooms, mops, dusters etc..so that our long house has some at each end.

    we have a cabinet area in our gym room where we keep extra cleaning things..like window and mirror cleaner, all purpose,extra polishing and dusting things..etc..a closet holds vacuums and a few tools..etc..

  • Chelsea Hanford
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I have called multiple cleaning porduct companies and they all say storing not only dish liquids and things under sink but even other cleaners isn't recommended not only cause it gets humid under there but can cause dish soaps to thin out so you don't see suds. Cleaners can change too making it not clean effectively. Also laundry rooms get humid and hot too so not recommened basically a foot closet or coat closet is best for storage of any kinds of chemicals. Most cleaners need to be used with in six months and they don't put expiration dates on the products so there is alot to think about.

  • Nikki N
    6 years ago

    I've switched over to nontoxic cleaners. Just a thought which may help with storage options too

  • PRO
    Maids Prime
    5 years ago

    Make sure the cleaning products you use are away from children's reach. Also, if you keep in the kitchen some of the cleaning products you use for cleaning the kitchen, make sure they are stored away from the places where you keep your groceries. Otherwise, you can keep your cleaning supplies wherever it makes the most sense for you, in the most practical spot. Best thing to do is to store them in a closed container and place the container away from food and children. If you hire a cleaning service on a regular basis, there is no need for storing a lot of cleaning products because cleaning companies now carry their own cleaning supplies, so that is a relief for most homeowners.

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