The modern world has given us lots of different chemical designed to clean things. Often, they are designed to clean very specific things in a very specific way, and it is important to read the directions. But even straightforward directions can't cover the many ways people dream up to use them wrong. Redditor cleanforever posted a question on the Cleaning Tips subreddit: "What's the biggest cleaning mistake you've ever made?" The post got nearly 400 comments, because mistakes were made. Several people told about applying various products to lightbulbs, from Windex to spray scent, but they did it when the lightbulb was on, causing an explosion! To be fair, they were kids when they did that.
As you probably guessed, someone had the bright idea to mix bleach and ammonia, which can be deadly. That's one thing we should all warn our kids about.
I did not realize that putting bleach in a toilet tank could lead to the rubber flap deteriorating, because I've never done that. But it can happen, and if the toilet isn't flushed soon, as one vacationing redditor found out, you may have to replace all the rubber parts in the tank.
Apartment Therapy gleaned the most common mistakes from the thread into an easy-to-read list, so you can learn from others' blunders and not destroy whatever it is you're trying to clean.
(Image credit: Wolfmann)
