Grade by Grade
C. Matter and Energy · Properties of Liquids and Solids

Using, Storing, and Getting Rid of Products Safely

C1.1 C2.7 A1.5 A3.1About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can find unsafe ways that liquids and solids are used or stored at home.
  • I can suggest safer ways to store household products.
  • I can explain why some products should never go down the drain, in the toilet or in the garbage.
  • I can share a home safety plan with my family.

Words to know

household product
Something used in a home, like dish soap, bleach, paint, medicine or batteries.
store
To put something away to keep it until you need it.
dispose
To get rid of something, like putting it in the garbage, recycling or a special drop-off.
hazardous waste
Leftover products that are dangerous for people or nature, like paint, motor oil, batteries and some cleaners.
storm drain
A grate in the street that takes rainwater away, often straight to a creek, river or lake.
environment
Everything around us: land, water, air, plants and animals.

Be a home safety inspector

Every home has lots of liquids and solids: dish soap, laundry detergent, medicine, paint, batteries and cooking oil. Most are helpful when used the right way. But if they are used, stored or thrown away the wrong way, they can hurt people or nature.

Today you are a home safety inspector!

1. Using products safely

  • Grown-ups use cleaners, paint and medicine. They read and follow the label.
  • Use only the amount the label says. More is not better.
  • Open a window for fresh air when using strong cleaners or paint.
  • Wear gloves if the label says to.
  • Never mix cleaning products. Some make dangerous gases.
  • Medicine is only for the person it is meant for, and only when a grown-up gives it.

2. Storing products safely

  • Keep products in their original container with the label on. Then everyone knows what is inside.
  • Never put a cleaner or chemical in a food or drink container, like a juice bottle or a cup. Someone could drink it by mistake.
  • Close lids tightly. Some lids are child-resistant: they are hard for little children to open.
  • Store dangerous products up high or in a locked cupboard, away from food.
  • Laundry and dishwasher pods can look like candy. Keep them locked away.
  • Keep batteries, especially small round button batteries, away from young children. Swallowing one is very dangerous.
CLEANERJUICEbut it hascleaner inside!SAFE: original container,label on, lid closedNOT SAFE: someone coulddrink it by mistake
Always keep a product in its own labelled container. A cleaner poured into a juice bottle looks like a drink, and someone could drink it by mistake.

3. Getting rid of products safely

When a product is old or used up, where does it go?

  • Never pour paint, motor oil, cleaners or medicine down the drain, into the toilet, onto the ground or into a storm drain. Storm drains often carry water straight to creeks, rivers and lakes, where it can harm fish, plants and the water we drink.
  • Hazardous waste like leftover paint, motor oil, batteries and strong cleaners goes to a household hazardous waste depot or a special drop-off day in your community.
  • Old medicine can go back to a pharmacy. Many pharmacies take it and get rid of it safely.
  • Cooking grease and oil should not go down the sink. It cools, gets hard and clogs pipes. Let it cool and put it in the garbage or the green bin, if your town allows it.
  • Empty containers that held safe things, like a clean milk jug or juice bottle, can often go in the recycling bin. Check your town's rules.
Rainwater and fallen leaves flowing into a metal storm drain at the edge of a street.
Water that goes down a storm drain often flows straight to a creek or lake, so we never pour paint, oil or cleaners into one. AI-generated image
streetstorm drainpipe under the groundcreek or lakeNot to scaleWhat goes down a storm drainis NOT cleaned first.
A storm drain is not a garbage can. Water that goes in often flows straight to a creek or lake, so paint, oil and cleaners must never go down it.
ProductWhere it should NOT goWhere it SHOULD go
leftover paintdown the drain or on the groundhazardous waste depot
old medicinetoilet, sink or garbageback to a pharmacy
used batteriesregular garbagebattery drop-off or hazardous waste depot
cooking greasedown the sinkcooled, then garbage or green bin (check your town)
motor oilstorm drain or groundhazardous waste depot or oil drop-off
Getting rid of household products safely
Worked example

Let's inspect a kitchen

In a pretend kitchen we find: (1) window cleaner poured into an old juice bottle, (2) a bottle of medicine on the low coffee table, (3) a bleach bottle with the lid off under the sink, with no lock. What is unsafe? How can we fix it?

  1. Problem 1: Cleaner in a juice bottle. Someone could think it is juice and drink it. Fix: Keep cleaners in their original, labelled container.
  2. Problem 2: Medicine where a young child can reach it. Fix: Store medicine up high or locked, in its original container with a child-resistant lid.
  3. Problem 3: Open bleach in a low cupboard. It can spill, and a child could reach it. Fix: Close the lid tightly and store it up high or in a locked cupboard.

All three problems can be fixed by keeping products in their labelled containers, with lids closed, up high or locked away.

Worked example

Let's decide: Where does it go?

Dad finished painting a fence. There is a little paint left in the can and paint on the brush. Can he rinse it all down the storm drain on the street?

  1. Think about the environment: The storm drain goes to a creek or lake.
  2. Paint can harm fish, plants and the water.
  3. Better idea: Close the leftover paint can and take it to the hazardous waste depot, or save it for touch-ups.
  4. For the brush: Follow the label. Some paints wash off in a sink with soap and water, others need special care. Never in the storm drain.

No. Leftover paint goes to the hazardous waste depot (or is saved and reused), never down the storm drain.

Ways to make home even safer

  • Buy only what you need, so there is less leftover to get rid of.
  • Choose simpler products when they do the job, like soap and water for many cleaning jobs.
  • Use child locks on cupboards if there are little children.
  • Keep the poison centre phone number on the fridge or in a phone.
Inspector tip

A good home safety inspector checks under the sink, up high and in the garage. A great one also checks that the cookie jar has only cookies in it!

Hands-on activity

Home safety inspection

You need: paper, a pencil, and a grown-up. You look and point. The grown-up handles all products.

  1. With a grown-up, check the kitchen, the bathroom and the laundry area.
  2. For each product, ask:
  • Is it in its original container with a label?
  • Is the lid closed?
  • Is it up high or locked, away from food?
  1. Write or draw any problems you find.
  2. Together, decide how to fix each problem.
  3. Make a Home Safety Plan poster with 3 rules, such as "Keep cleaners up high", "Never put chemicals in food containers" and "Old medicine goes back to the pharmacy".
  4. Share your poster with your family.

Your turn

1

Why should cleaners stay in their original container?

2

Where should dangerous products be stored?

3

Is it okay to pour old paint down a storm drain?

4

Where can old medicine go?

5

Why should cooking grease not go down the sink?

6

Who should use strong cleaners?

More practice: warm-up

1

Should a lid be left open or closed?

2

Can you put window cleaner in a juice bottle?

3

Where do used batteries go?

4

Is medicine candy?

5

Should you ever mix two cleaners?

More practice: on your own

1

Name two kinds of hazardous waste.

2

Why are laundry pods kept locked away?

3

How can buying only what you need help the environment?

4

Your neighbour is changing his car's oil. Where should the old oil go?

5

Why is it unsafe to keep medicine on a low table?

Challenge

1

Find two problems: "Grandma keeps bleach in a cup on the counter next to the bread, with no label." Suggest fixes.

2

A family has half a can of leftover paint. Give two good choices for it.

3

How does safe disposal of household liquids help animals in a lake?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Where is the safest place to store bleach?

2.

Old medicine should go...

3.

Why is pouring motor oil into a storm drain harmful?

4.

Which is unsafe?

5.

Leftover paint should go to...

6.

Why should cooking grease not go down the sink?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: How we use, store and dispose of household liquids and solids affects our health and safety and the environment (C1.1). Children assess real practices and suggest improvements: original labelled containers, lids closed, up high or locked, and correct disposal (hazardous waste depots, pharmacy take-back, never storm drains).

How to help: Do the inspection together; you handle every product. Use it as a chance to check your own storage (child-resistant lids, locked cupboards, button batteries and laundry pods out of reach). Look up your municipality's household hazardous waste depot and green bin rules together; rules differ between towns.

Communicating (A1.5): The Home Safety Plan poster is your child's way to share findings. Let them explain it to another family member.

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking anything liquid can go down the drain. Talk about where drains and storm drains lead.
  • Thinking medicine is safe because it helps people. Medicine helps only when it is the right medicine, for the right person, in the right amount.

Safety: Keep your local poison centre's number in your phone and on the fridge. In an emergency, call 911.