Salford parents urged to safely store hazardous cleaning products

Parents in Salford are being urged to take extra precautions when storing their cleaning products.

The initiative, Take Action Today campaign, is being rolled out across Salford today, Monday 2 November. It aims to prevent the poisoning of children by household cleaning products.

Claire Beswick, lead nurse for 0-19 Children’s Nursing Services at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, warned against the dangers of storing washing and cleaning products where children could reach them.

“Unfortunately young children, particularly those under the age of five, do sometimes consume household cleaning products such as washing machine tablets, liquids and gels, or get them in their eyes, in part due to the curious nature of children, she said.

“This can result in a trip to A&E, some unpleasant side effects, eye injuries and even poisoning.

Ashley Martin, The Royal Society for the Prevention Accidents’ (RoSPA) acting public health adviser said: “Due to their inquisitive nature, children under the age of five are most at risk of accidentally swallowing or getting household cleaning products, like liquid laundry capsules, into their eyes.

Public Health England data shows that between the years 2016/2017 – 2018/2019 Salford recorded 105 emergency admissions for accidental poisoning in children aged 0-4, higher than the national average.

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The campaign aims to provide families with children under the age of five with a magnetic pad, designed to be kept on the fridge as a reminder on how to safely store their cleaning products.

Ashley Martin, said, “The notepad acts as a constant reminder in family kitchens to store cleaning products out of reach, out of sight and in a locked cupboard.”

Emma Gerrard, representative for Fairy Non Bio said, supporting the campaign, said: “We are extremely pleased to be able to support the Take Action Today programme, to help spread the vital message that household cleaning and laundry products can be dangerous in children’s hands and must always be closed securely in their packaging and stored out of reach and sight.

“Together we hope to change parents’ and carers’ behaviour when it comes to safe use and storage of household cleaning products and drive a reduction in incidents in the north west of England.”

More information about the Take Action Today campaign can be found here.