While we’re all spending more time at home, cleaning might be a fantastic coping method for dealing with the current uncertainty. Just keep in mind that some cleaning products should not be mixed. Here is a list of common goods that should not be mixed.
Baking Soda with Vinegar
Baking soda and vinegar might be fantastic, low-cost alternatives to household cleaning goods on their own, but they don’t make the ideal team. Because baking soda is basic and vinegar is acidic, combining their results in primary water, which isn’t harmful but also isn’t a cleaning powerhouse.
Hydrogen Peroxide and Vinegar
Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar are both fantastic natural cleaning substances on their own, but when combined, they can produce peracetic acid. While the mixture is sanitizing, it can also be corrosive!
Ammonia and Bleach
These two ingredients are found in quite a few cleaning products, so be sure to check the ingredients lists of your bottles before using them together. Inhaling the vapors can result in respiratory damage and throat burns. Yikes!
Vinegar and Bleach
Despite being a good disinfectant when combined, these typical cleaning products are a no-no when combined. When vinegar’s acid is combined with bleach, it emits deadly chlorine and chloramine fumes. Be cautious with this combination, which can cause chemical burns to your eyes and lungs.
Bleach and Rubbing Alcohol
Bleach and rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol make chloroform—the scary stuff you see the bad guys in movies put on rags to knock people out! Although you might not pass out, cleaning with this combo is not recommended.
Different Drain Cleaners
There’s something satisfying about dumping drain cleaner into a clogged sink. But if the clog isn’t breaking up, you may find yourself at the store for more. Remember to purchase the same kind you put down your sink the first time! Mixing different drain cleaners can cause the release of chlorine gas and may even lead to an explosion.
Mildew Stain Remover and Bleach
Mildew stain remover contains acid, which, when combined with bleach, produces chlorine gas. Avoid irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs by steering clear of this combo.
Bleach and Toilet Bowl Cleaner
The mixture of an acidic-based toilet bowl cleaner with bleach is bad for your health. It releases toxic fumes that can cause breathing issues and watery eyes.
Vinegar and Castile Soap
It may not be a dangerous combo, but it’s certainly an ineffective one! Combining vinegar and castile soap (fine, hard white, or mottled soap made with olive oil and sodium hydroxide) merely creates a chunky, oily mixture, since the acid in vinegar breaks down the castile soap.
Bleach and Lysol
Lysol, a disinfectant, should not be used with bleach. The bleach oxidizes Lysol’s 2-benzyl-4-chlorophenol, resulting in a variety of unpleasant and hazardous chemicals.
Oven Cleaner and Bleach
Bleach is often considered the go-to for getting all sorts of cleaning jobs done, but there are many things it shouldn’t be mixed with, and oven cleaner is one of them! The combination can produce chlorine gas, resulting in irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs.
Vinegar and Water (on Hard Wood Floors)
It may not be dangerous, but the combination of vinegar and water to clean your hardwood floors could be costly. Vinegar is acidic and can damage the finish on your floor, resulting in a dull appearance. Furthermore, a solution of vinegar and water to clean is mostly water and while the combination works for other surfaces, it can result in moisture damage to
Antibacterials/Disinfectants and Detergent
Mixing a disinfectant that uses quaternary ammonia with a foaming cleanser (think of mixing Formula 409 Multi-Surface Cleaner with a foamy soap), may seem like the perfect combo to double down on picking up grime, but it actually results in quite the opposite. The combination neutralizes the disinfectant.
Different Brands of Cleaning Products
With all the potential combinations listed so far, it’s best to avoid using multiple cleaning products at once! You never know if the mixture could cause irritation, or result in a medical issue. They may even neutralize each other! Avoid dangerous chemical reactions and more by keeping things simple with only one of each cleaning product on hand.
Bleach and Other Cleaning Products
Whether it’s a glass cleaner, dishwasher detergent, toilet cleaner, floor cleaner, wood cleaner or more, combining bleach with various other cleaning products can result in the production of chlorine gas, resulting in severe respiratory and ocular problems. If you must use bleach, use it by itself.