Why You Should Always Wear Gloves When Cleaning With Bar Keepers Friend

If keeping your home squeaky clean during the ongoing pandemic is one of the only things keeping you sane, join the club! But if you haven't added this miracle product to your cleaning arsenal, it's time to check out Bar Keepers Friend. This relatively inexpensive, yet powerful cleaning product tackles everything from stovetops and sinks to pots and pans (via Taste of Home). 

As Home Steady notes, a little goes a long way with this cleaner, and it should never be mixed with bleach or other cleaning products. But while Bar Keepers Friend needs nothing more than some good old-fashioned elbow grease to remove the most stubborn dirt and stains throughout your home, a word to the wise: With great power comes great responsibility — especially when using this product with bare hands!

Bar Keepers Friend, which comes in powder, soft cleanser, and liquid polish forms, can do everything from polish your stainless steel cookware to take on the toughest stains on your stove and in your shower and tub (via BuzzFeed). But as Home Steady advises, it's best to don some latex gloves before you start scrubbing. Think about it: If Bar Keepers Friend can remove buildups from calcium, lime, rust, and hard water stains, just imagine what it can do to your hands.

The active ingredient in Bar Keepers Friend is oxalic acid, which can cause skin and eye irritation (via NJ Department of Health). As Home Steady advises in its step one of cleaning with the product: "Put on a pair of latex gloves before you begin cleaning."

We're all obsessed with keeping our homes immaculately clean these days, so definitely grab some Bar Keepers Friend to keep your bathroom, kitchen, and more as sparkling as they can be. Just make sure to throw some gloves on first!