Mixing cleaning chemicals can be dangerous and now a survey has spelt out which should never be used together.
If you are an expert cleaner, you will know how to keep your home spic and span. However, when catching up with housework during lockdown and beyond, you should always be careful to avoid any mishaps. Safety is of primary importance, especially at a time like this.
You will be surprised how many people are putting their health at risk, by mixing household chemicals which should never go together.
This has been driven home by a cutting-edge survey by online marketplace OnBuy.com. They have highlighted the household chemicals which should never be combined while carrying out a deep cleaning.
Possible Danger to Health
Cleaning chemicals can often have the reverse effect and make an even bigger mess, instead of cleaning it up. In more extreme cases, mixing chemicals could have dangerous consequences which could endanger your health.
For instance, you should never mix bleach and ammonia. It produces toxic vapour, which can burn your eyes and hurt your organs. This can lead to respiratory issues which is a particularly concerning in the present pandemic.
The survey also recommends not combining bleach with rubbing alcohol as this produces dangerous gases which could cause unconsciousness or potentially death, if inhaled in large amounts.
Mixing these two substances together produces not only, chloroform and hydrochloric acid, but also dichloroacetone or chloroacetone. These could hurt your eyes, skin and nervous system and gravely impair your lungs, kidneys and liver.
Common household liquids can be dangerous if combined.
Some fairly common liquids that appear in almost every house can be very dangerous if mixed together. For example, bleach should never be combined with lemon juice or vinegar (or other acids), as this gives off chlorine gas. Chlorine gas causes respiratory distress and, if it gets on your skin, it can also cause a chemical burn.
If that was not bad enough, exposure to large quantities of the gas in a confined area with no ventilation can be fatal. In fact, this is why the vapour has been used as a chemical weapon.
Check safety information
It is hard to imagine just how hazardous it can be to mix the wrong chemicals. Who could have known it could see you losing consciousness, ending up in hospital or fighting for your life?
All in all, you should be aware of the risks you could be taking when cleaning your home, by making a dangerous chemical combinations. So, always be careful about the chemicals you plan to use, and check they can be safely used together.
Source: Thetelegraphandargus.co.uk
