Your Medicine Cabinet Needs Cleaning, Too!
When it comes to springtime, everything is fresh and new. That’s how most people want their homes to feel too! Spring cleaning means getting rid of dust bunnies and unwanted items. But there’s one place you might not think of — your medicine cabinet. Now is the time to sweep through it and get rid of old, unused items and here’s why.
Medicines Lose Their Potency
Do you store some prescriptions or medicines in a bathroom cabinet? Most people do and older bottles of over-the-counter and prescription medications can pile up. This causes some bottles and boxes to wind up in the back and go unused for an extended period of time.
All medications have an expiration date on them. This is because the manufacturer does not guarantee the stability of the drug after it’s opened and exposed to things like excessive heat, moisture and light. All of these elements can cause certain meds to not work as effectively or lose their potency. Spring cleaning? Don’t forget to safely discard outdated meds.
Creams and Lotions Lose Beneficial Ingredients
Spring is a great time to go through old bottles and jars of body lotions and facial creams as well. As time goes by, certain products and beauty capsules can lose their scents and beneficial organic ingredients that were designed to help moisturize or tighten skin. Ditching old products from the medicine cabinet is a good idea to put on that to-do list every spring.
Buildup of Harmful Bacteria
Once soaps, pills or other items stored in a medicine cabinet are opened, they’re subject to fluctuating temperatures. In a bathroom medicine cabinet, there’s bound to be moisture.
Hot water and steam combined with cooler air temps are a breeding ground for bacteria and mold spores to grow, and they’re not always visible. If it grows inside lotions or even consumable products like medications, it can lead to illness and infection when consumed or used. Be sure to ditch old items and disinfect the entire area.
Unwanted Use of Medications
Have leftover pain pills from a surgery or tooth extraction? Not everyone throws old pill bottles or medications away. If someone with an opioid addiction visits or a teenager is just curious, these meds can have harmful consequences. Throw prescription medications out, especially narcotic pain pills if no one using them. A good time to do this is now, but be sure to put it in on the spring cleaning to-do-list just to be safe.
The medicine cabinet often goes untouched when doing a thorough house cleaning. Emptying and sanitizing it thoroughly at least once a year can create a healthier bathroom environment for everyone.
~Here’s to Your Financial Health!
Copyright 2019, FinancialHealth.net
