Is bleach your go-to disinfectant but you’re always left horrified by the smell it leaves behind? How to get rid of bleach smell in house rooms has always been an issue amongst those who like chlorine-based cleaners.
That’s precisely why I’m going to show you a few ways to get the bleach smell out of your textiles, your hands, and your home.
Why Use Bleach in Your Home?
Bleach is an excellent disinfectant that also dissolves difficult stains and whitens textiles. However, bleach does not automatically remove grime and residue from surfaces. To accomplish this, you’d first need to scrub and rinse the surfaces, followed by applying a bleach solution.
While most of us believe bleach is being used to clean a surface, it is most likely being used to disinfect it. Many individuals use bleach to clean their bathrooms, as this room is prone to the growth of bacteria.
While bleach will not erase a stain from a sink, it will destroy any viruses or bacteria present on its surface.
Is Bleach a Dangerous Product to Use in your Home?
Bleach is a highly toxic chemical that is found in a wide variety of cleaning products, including toilet cleaners and stain removers. Many people use these products unaware of the possible dangerous consequences they can have on everyone who comes into contact with them.
Scientists continue to raise awareness of the risks associated with bleach. Understanding why bleach can be toxic and should be avoided when cleaning will assist you in keeping your house safe.
Dangerous for Children
The majority of people are aware that bleach is extremely harmful if swallowed and would certainly avoid doing so with their children. What many people are unaware of is that bleach can be harmful to children that live in a household where bleach products are used frequently.
Dangerous for Pets
While individuals frequently take several efforts to protect their children, they frequently neglect to do the same for their dogs.
Bleach in the home can be extremely dangerous to pets. While they are unlikely to purposely consume the material due to its intense odor, cleaning with bleach may accidentally expose your animals.
Cleaning agents used to clean floors or wash bedding can remain on a pet’s paws or fur. Cats and dogs frequently lick themselves, which can result in them ingesting the toxic substances.
Birds can become ill from inhaling even a trace amount of the pollutants due to their small size. Bleach poisoning can cause vomiting, convulsions, and occasionally death in pets.
Dangerous for Adults
The more chlorine bleach you use, the more you jeopardize your entire family due to the bleach’s toxic effects on the body.
To begin, breathing bleach damages the lungs. If you accidentally inhale the hummus, you can end up feeling lightheaded, coughing, or even feel a sting in your eyes and nose.
Chlorine is also dangerous when it comes in contact with your skin. It can cause burning and irritation. In time, it can also lead to tissue damage and skin pigmentation.
Interacts with Other Chemicals
When bleach reacts with ammonia, chlorine gas is formed, causing cellular damage in the nasal airways and lungs. In households, the unintentional mixing of these two products has ended in death. Additionally, chlorine gas can be produced when bleach combines with acids such as vinegar.
Additionally, the combination of ammonia and chlorine bleach can produce harmful and toxic gases. The hazards associated with bleach byproducts add to the dangers associated with utilizing this chemical throughout the house.
Is the Smell of Bleach Toxic?
Many feel that the moment you smell bleach, you have an increased risk of developing respiratory problems such as bronchitis or asthma. When properly operating with bleach as specified on the instruction label, the scent should not indicate danger.
While the human nose can smell chlorine at .002 ppm, health risks and discomfort occur at considerably higher concentrations. In such a situation, it’s best to try and lower the risk of bleach scent exposure is to use it only in properly-ventilated rooms.
How Long Does It Take for Bleach Smell to go Away on its Own?
It should come as no surprise that breathing bleach is not recommended. When you use this disinfectant in your home, the bleach fumes can become overwhelming. It leaves you with very few options for removing the fumes from the indoor environment.
Bleach exposure can occur at work, at home, or even in a business setting. Because bleach is sprayed directly to a surface, it will remain on that surface for the duration of the contact time required to deactivate bacteria, germs, and different other pathogens.
This can last as long as one hour. During this process, bleach can be converted to fumes in the air, resulting in potentially hazardous bleach fumes.
How to Get Rid of Bleach Smell in Your House
If you want to know how to get rid of the bleach smell in the house, here are some suggestions that might help.
1. Open Multiple Windows
Many people believe that the strong stench associated with bleach is created by chlorine. This is a widespread misunderstanding.
Bleach emits a pungent, chlorine-like odor as a result of a chemical reaction that occurs as the liquid degrades proteins. The more bleach is used, the stronger the aroma will get as time passes.
For first-time bleach users, the aroma will most likely be quite strong due to the thick protein buildup on the surfaces of your home.
When bleach scents begin to accumulate, the simplest solution is to open a window to allow in the fresh air. You can also open multiple windows to create cross-ventilation.
2. Using White Vinegar
If bleach odors are an annoyance, white vinegar can be used to neutralize them, provided that it is used appropriately and does not produce dangerous vapors.
3. Wash Your Hands
After using bleach, wash your hands in a room that’s properly ventilated (or outside). Make sure you only add a drop of white vinegar and scrub until you get rid of the feel left by bleach on your skin. Rinse your hands using warm water to destroy potential fumes caused by chemical mixture.
4. Wash Your Clothes
Wash all the clothes that smell like bleach. Use a mixture made from ¼ cup of white vinegar and laundry soap. You might have to soak the clothes twice if you feel the smell of bleach is too strong.
5. Boil Some Vinegar
Take a small pan and place some vinegar inside it. Place it on the stove and allow it to boil. This will remove persistent bleach odors from your home. For a single room, place the bowl inside said room and leave it overnight.
6. Soak Small Items
If you notice small items that smell like bleach, place them in the rub/sink. Fill the sink halfway with water and half with vinegar. Leave the items in the mixture for at least one hour. Rinse them in cold water to get rid of vinegar odors.
7. Use an Oil Diffuser or Air Purifier
You can always use something like an oil diffuser or air purifier to get rid of bleach smells. Set your unit to either the “ventilation” or “purify” ode and watch it do wonders. Based on the size of the room, you might want to leave it on for at least half an hour.
If the smell of bleach is persistent all over the house, you might have to purify one room at a time. This implied moving the air purifier from one room to another. It’s best if you leave the room with the doors and windows closed until the process is complete.
8. Place Fan by Open Window
Open all doors and windows inside the house to produce a positive airflow in the space. Direct fans into the room or out the windows to assist with air circulation. By angling the fan into the room, you can draw in the fresh air. This helps dilute the bleach smell and pushes it outside the room.
9. Light a Scented Candle
Scented candles should do a fairly good job in masking bleach odors. If you don’t have a scented candle, you can also use deodorizers or room fresheners as well.
Products with a powerful scent can mask the bleach odor, but they don’t counteract the effects of breathing in bleach. That being said, they are not better than proper room ventilation or air purification.
They could be efficient in a scenario where you’re having guests over and want to mask the bleach odor with a rapid solution.
10. Use Baking Soda
Another effective method for removing a strong bleach odor from your home is to use baking soda. If you have baking soda lying around your house, you are undoubtedly well aware of its ability to absorb odors.
The simplest way to accomplish this is to sprinkle baking soda on a plate or inside a bowl, and then scatter it over the area.
As time passes, the baking soda will be able to absorb the bleach’s stench. This procedure will not work instantly, but it will provide results.
Give this a try if your ventilation efforts are falling short of your expectations. This is also beneficial for spaces that lack windows or other practical means of ventilation.
How Can I Remove Bleach Smell from Walls?
In some situations, you can use certain cleaning products or a mixture of dish soap and water to clean the walls. This would not only get rid of bleach odors but also effectively clean your walls.
If you choose this method, it’s important to test your cleaning mixture on a small patch of wall, just to make sure you’re not going to disclose it or destroy the wallpaper.
Since not all walls can be cleaned without damaging their appearance, consider some of the other methods we’ve talked about earlier.
How Can I Remove Bleach Smell from Carpet?
Using a carpet cleaner is your best bet. I strongly recommend trying a DIY carpet cleaner solution.
One of the most frustrating problems related to bleach odor is having to get them out of the carpet. Everyone knows that when textiles are imbued with a strong scent, it’s not easy to get rid of it.
It’s exponentially harder considering that you can’t just throw the carpet in the washing machine, as you would with a T-shirt.
Carpet cleaners are a great solution for those who want to clean the carpets and get rid of that pungent bleach scent. DIY cleaning solutions can do wonders if you can’t afford to take the carpet to the cleaners.
How Can I Remove the Smell of Bleach from my Hands?
Having that bleach odor impregnated in your hands is just terrible. Whenever you’re trying to eat a cookie or wash your face, you strongly feel that smell. Thankfully, there are a few things you can try to get rid of it faster.
Use Dishwashing Soap
Ordinary soap will eliminate the bleach odor from your hands. However, if this does not work, substitute dishwashing liquid. Dishwashing liquid is designed to remove a wide variety of odors and chemicals and is more likely to eliminate the bleach odor than conventional soap.
Scrub well, especially between your fingers and beneath your fingernails, to ensure that all traces of the odor are eliminated.
Use Scented Lotion
Scented lotions frequently conceal the smell of bleach, particularly if the aroma is strong. Choose a smell that you enjoy and apply a drop of lotion to each of your hands.
Rub them together until the lotion covers the entire hand. Not only does it eliminate the bleach stink, but it also makes your hands feel significantly softer.
Use Essential Oils
Essential oils do not have the power to completely eliminate bleach odors, but they can mask them. To do this, create a mixture of coconut oil and some drops of your favorite essential oil. Wash your hands thoroughly and apply the scented coconut oil all over them.
Final Thoughts
Even if you know how to get rid of the bleach smell in the house, there are alternatives to chlorine-based products that could turn out to be better. If you have children or pets, you want to be extra cautious with how much bleach you use.
Jamie is the Founder of My Home Dwelling. He is a homeowner and enjoys sharing his homeowner tips with others. He has real estate experience working as a new home construction Realtor. Jamie has worked on numerous residential construction sites helping with interior and exterior renovations. He loves refinishing furniture, DIY home projects, and sharing his knowledge online.