Tell Me Why: Why Can't I Mix Bleach and Ammonia?
posted September 19, 2006 - 1:48pmBecause the giant warning on the bottle in bright red print with a skull and cross bones isn't enough, hundreds of people are wheeled into emergency rooms every year after mixing a deadly combination of ammonia and bleach- a corrosive concoction that can cause the lungs to fill with liquid.< p>
Household bleach is 5% sodium hypochlorite. Mix it with ammonia and mono- and di-chloramines are formed. These nasty fellows will cause lovely symptoms such as respiratory tract irritation, tearing, and nausea. To make things better, add water to get hydrochloric acid and nascent oxygen- also known as chlorine gas, the chemical weapon of choice of Nazi Germany in World War II- for the added bonus of drowning in your own fluids!
Should a person misguidedly join these two in a most unholy matrimony, they may feel fine for a short period of time until they notice white spots in their peripheral vision. (That would be the lack of oxygen to the brain.) Then they may feel woozy. Then if they're lucky, they'll wake up on a gurney in the emergency room with a breathing tube down their throat and a totally hot doctor-- who probably thinks they are an idiot.
As a rule of thumb, never mix any household cleaners together, ever- as many of them have either a bleach or ammonia base. In the quest for a supercleaner, you'll have to use that good ol' fashioned never-fail product- elbow grease!


Comments
Oh my gosh!
It sounds as if you speak from experience
Knowledge is power!
Thanks
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