See Jane Drill – Ammonia and Bleach

September 24, 2014

Ammonia and Bleach – Never Mix Them! Here’s why you should never mix ammonia and bleach together… A little DIY Chemistry lesson: Bleach may be an outstanding whitener and sanitizer on it’s own, equaled by none. And ammonia may be the all-purpose cleaner and workhorse under the kitchen sink. But should you mix the two together, you’re not mixing up an enhanced super-cleaner, you’re mixing up a deadly toxic formula. This is part of the reason why many household cleaners warn you about combining their product with other cleaning products. There is always the possibility that those others product may contain bleach or ammonia, and cause a chemical reaction, and not just any chemical reaction, but a toxic and perhaps explosive one. Here’s why:

There are 3 dangerous substances you could create by mixing the ammonia and bleach together. It is the amounts of each substance used in combination with the other which determines which dangerous and perhaps even deadly substance you have created.

· Nitrogen Trichloride. Not only will this substance generate toxic fumes, which put your eyes and mucus membranes at risk, it could EXPLODE, that’s right, the combining of the two ingredients could literally cause an explosion.

· Chlorine Gas. To put the seriousness of this gas into perspective, chlorine gas was used as a chemical weapon during WWI. The fumes generated by this gas can cause eye and skin irritation, coughing, sore throat, nausea, difficulty breathing and chest pain. At very high levels if cause collapse or can result in even death.

· Hydrazine. Hydrazine, like Nitrogen Trichloride, is highly explosive. To help put things in perspective, Hydrazine is a component of rocket fuel. Not only does this substance pose a risk of exploding, but exposure to Hydrazine can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, light-headedness, headache, nausea, pulmonary edema and seizures.

First Aid Measures: If you ever become exposed to the vapors of an ammonia and bleach combination, you should immediately get yourself to fresh air and seek emergency medical attention. If you feel that you have not been exposed to the point that your health is at risk, it may still be advisable to contact the poison control center regarding safe and best practices for clean up, in addition to airing out the room(s) affected and allowing the poisonous fumes to disperse.

So be safe and choose either ammonia OR bleach as your solution of choice when cleaning an area of your home.