6 Cleaning Products You Should NEVER Mix
Posted on 26/09/2024
Find Out the Cleaning Combinations You Should Avoid
Researching various cleaning solutions and methods can be fun, but you should also be careful as some of the proclaimed recipes are downright useless and even dangerous. That is mostly valid when it comes to mixing a product that works well on its own with another.
Take a bit of your time to do proper research before you play chemist as you approach the time for thorough domestic cleaning. The ingredients you are about to mix could be extremely dangerous, especially when it comes to solutions you are not familiar with. Products that you have been happily using in your cleaning sessions on their own could have an adverse chemical reaction when mixed with something else. Here are 6 combinations you should avoid:
- Vinegar + baking soda - this combination is not so much dangerous as it is pointless. The main thing to keep in mind is that vinegar is acidic and baking soda is basic. Mixed together they create sodium acetate and large quantities of … water. It is not something that holds real home cleaning value, nor is it a miraculous concoction that packs a punch against certain stains. Some danger comes from the fact that baking soda foams up when it is mixed with vinegar. Doing so in a closed container could cause it to explode and that is something you want to avoid. It should be noted that both vinegar and baking soda have multiple uses and have earned their rightful place as house cleaning champions, but together they just don’t work at all.
- Vinegar + hydrogen peroxide - while spraying countertops and even fruits with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide one after the other is safe (as long as you wipe down the surface between each spray), you should never mix both. The thing about mixing them in the same container is that they cause a chemical reaction and create peracetic acid. It can be potentially toxic and irritate your skin, eyes or even respiratory system.
- Drain cleaner A + drain cleaner B - if your efforts to unclog a drain have hit a wall, you may be tempted to mix a drain cleaner with another for a more powerful solution. It is a well-known fact that drain cleaners contain powerful chemicals and specially developed formulas. Mixing two of them together is dangerous and may even lead to explosion. Cleaning experts go as far as to suggest that you shouldn’t even use one of these products immediately after the other.
- Ammonia + bleach - when mixed together, ammonia and bleach produce chloramine gas. It is toxic and when inhaled leads to sever breathing problems, along with chest pain and eye irritation. Do note that a number of window cleaning solutions contain ammonia so they should never be mixed.
- Vinegar + bleach - even if you are tempted to combine the disinfecting properties of both into one powerful solution, you must not. Combining them creates chlorine gas, which is very dangerous. Even low levels of it may lead to difficulties in breathing, coughing and irritated eyes.
- Rubbing alcohol + bleach - that right here is a recipe for chloroform, or at least one that comes close to it. Both of these ingredients are valuable solutions to use in your home cleaning efforts, but when combined together they create a toxic and irritating mix, which can be quite dangerous. If there is any lesson to be learned here it is that you should never mix bleach with other cleaning solutions, as the results can be dangerous.
As you can see, mixing different ingredients is not a good idea, especially if you don’t know what the result may be. Avoid the described combinations at all costs.
