A woman has been left with permanent nerve damage and a third degree burn after a single drop of oven cleaner fell into her trainers.
Professional cleaner Vicky Buck, 45, was wearing full protective gear while scrubbing the inside of a mucky oven when a drop of the liquid fell into her shoe.
Vicky says the drop of Vanquish Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner dripped inside the tongue of her trainer - and left her with a serious burn the size of a 50p.
Vicky barely even felt the burn at the time because the alkali nearly instantly burned deep enough to cut the nerves.
By the time she took off her protective clothing and took a look her sock was moulded to her foot - and the oven cleaner had burned through her gloves.
Vicky says she will be permanently scarred, might need a skin graft and and faces surgery to "dig out all the dead flesh".
Married Vicky, from Markington, North Yorkshire, said: "I was dipping my brush into a very small amount of cleaning fluid I had put in a tub, and I didn't even see any fall.
"My foot started stinging, and I thought 'I will just finish what I am doing'.
"When I took the gloves off I had to kind of peel them off and my hands were covered with blood, but fortunately they recovered fine."
"It melted my sock and my skin and fused them together.
"The hospital said they will dig out all of the dead flesh which will leave a hole the size of a fifty pence piece and half an inch deep.
"They will try to pack the hole with gauss and iodine and see if it will heal.
"If it doesn't they said they will have to graft it.
"The skin all around the burn is really swollen and hot, but I can't feel the burn any more because of the nerve damage."
Vicky has been a professional domestic cleaner for two years and is diligent about health and safety.
At the time she was tackling the oven she was wearing full kit - including goggles, a face mask, a hazmat suit and heavy duty work trainers.
She added: "My waterproof suit has reinforced knees and still my knees got burned, but fortunately they will recover.
"My trainers are specifically made for work, and are very sturdy with steel toe caps and heels.
"I have had a pair of rubber gloves go through on me while using this cleaner before, so I use heavy duty gloves now."
She went to her GP, and was referred to Harrogate Hospital, where she says she was told she would need surgery and would definitely have a scar.
They referred her to the burns and plastic surgery unit.
She said she is sharing her story to raise awareness about the safety of off-the-shelf cleaning products.
She said: "I feel pretty annoyed. It is absolutely appalling.
"This stuff is available in supermarkets, and it's really really nasty.
"On the bottle it just says to protect yourself, which is leaving too much to interpretation.
"I think the most people will do is wear gloves, but I just can't imagine what it would be like if you didn't have your eyes protected and you got a splash in your eye."
SWNS news agency reached out to Clover, which produces Vanquish Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner, but they have not responded to a request for comment.
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