Experts Reveal the Best (and Worst) Places to Keep Your Cleaning Supplies

Where you keep your cleaning supplies matters more than you'd think. Experts reveal the best spot for easy access, and the one place that could be ruining your products.

Where you store your cleaning supplies can affect how well they work, how long they last, and even how safe your home is. Here’s where professional organizers and a Good Housekeeping Institute expert recommend you store them and where you shouldn’t.

The best way to store your cleaning supplies is in a caddy, situated somewhere cool, dry and easy to reach. "Cleaning supplies should be kept close to where you use them so you can grab and go," said Karen Larkin, founder of Belle Home.

Organizer Andrew Brown also suggests sorting your caddies by the room where they will be used instead of product type. "A caddy with too much in it is basically a junk drawer wearing a nicer outfit," he said.

The worst place to store your cleaning supplies, according to Good Housekeeping, is the garage, where changes in temperature can affect the products over time. Products like bleach and aerosol cans don’t do well with too much heat. Bleach loses its active chlorine while the pressure in aerosol cans tend to rise. Meanwhile, the cold can also affect other formulations.

Noah Pinsonnault of the Good Housekeeping Institute recommends watching for a change in a product's appearance, odor or consistency, or damaged packaging, as signs it's time to replace it.

Another common, but risky place to store cleaning products is under the sink. Brown says he's seen roughly 40 cabinets damaged by leaks without the owner noticing for months. But if that is the only option, Brown suggests using a bin to catch leaks, a riser to keep bottles elevated, and to make sure to check the space regularly.

Wherever you decide to store your cleaning supplies, remember that safety matters too. Malaika Lubega, a professional organizer, interior decorator, and the owner of Huza Home Concepts, recommends keeping cleaning products off the floor and out of reach of children and pets. If you don’t have a high-enough space, keep them in leak-proof containers with proper labeling and store them in a secure cabinet.