Don’t Mix These 4 Combinations Of Cleaning Products

One of the most unfortunate myths in the cleaning industry is that you get better results when you combine the power of two different cleaning agents or chemicals. Mixing cleaning products together can be quite dangerous and is something that should be avoided at all times. If you are wondering what some of those dangerous combinations might be, below are four combinations of cleaning products that you should not mix together.

Bleach and Alcohol

Combining bleach and alcohol is something that should never be done. The combination of the two compounds creates chloroform as well as hydrochloric acid, which is caustic, and can be very harmful to your eyes, skin and internal organs. Exposure to chloroform produces dizziness, unconsciousness and nausea.

Bleach and Ammonia

Bleach and ammonia mixed together form a very hazardous gas that is capable of doing serious harm to your respiratory system (lungs and bronchial tubes). If the concentration of these two cleaning products is high enough, it can even create a powerful explosive.

Bleach and Vinegar

Bleach is a very strong base substance, and adding any kind of weak acid (like vinegar) is capable of producing toxic and caustic gasses that can hurt your eyes, lungs and other mucous membranes. As a general rule, it is not a good idea to mix any kind of acid with a base as strong as bleach because the resulting chemical reaction will be incredibly strong, and often not controllable.

Baking Soda and Vinegar

Vinegar is an acid, and baking soda is a weak base, so when they are mixed together, the reaction neutralizes both products, the result being a solution that is predominantly water, and virtually useless as a cleaning product. Mixing the two together in a closed container, if there is enough of each compound, can result in pressure building up inside the container, and might produce an explosion that, while not incredibly dangerous, could result in a huge mess for you to clean up.

You might think that combining the cleaning power of two different cleaning products can only result in more cleanliness, but some of these cleaning products, while fairly harmless on their own (provided you are using them for their intended purposes), when mixed can become quite volatile and create new compounds that you definitely don't want to be around. Keep the above cleaning product mixtures in mind and know how to stay safe while cleaning.