Mixing Bleach and Ammonia

[tonilea]

Now, I am not foolish enough to actually mix the two. BUT, I just realized I was cleaning the toilet with a bleach based cleaner and the shower with a cleaner that says DO NOT MIX WITH BLEACH. The fumes are quite strong (tiny area, just toilet and shower stall). Anyway, my question is: Do you have to actually mix the two products, or can just the fumes mix to create a toxic gas?

 

[sbell111]

Good question.

Turn on the fan.

 

[C.Ann]

Now, I am not foolish enough to actually mix the two. BUT, I just realized I was cleaning the toilet with a bleach based cleaner and the shower with a cleaner that says DO NOT MIX WITH BLEACH. The fumes are quite strong (tiny area, just toilet and shower stall). Anyway, my question is: Do you have to actually mix the two products, or can just the fumes mix to create a toxic gas?

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I wouldn't take the chance of finding out.. Open a window, turn on the fan, and close the bathroom door.. Not to scare you, but people have actually collapsed on the floor and died from just a very brief exposure to those fumes mixed together..

Better safe than sorry..

 

[tonilea]

Really good ideas, but that bath has neither a fan nor a window. Design flaw.

 

[RN4Babies]

I agree. I would think the vapors mixing together could be as dangerous and toxic as mixing the liquids together.

Flush the toilet a bunch of times, open the windows and get the fan going!!

 

[cteddiesgirl]

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I wouldn't take the chance of finding out.. Open a window, turn on the fan, and close the bathroom door.. Not to scare you, but people have actually collapsed on the floor and died from just a very brief exposure to those fumes mixed together..

Better safe than sorry..

Yep.

Definitely open the window and use a fan. If no window, open your windows and doors in the house and use a fan.

 

[tonilea]

I flushed the toilet a couple of times before writing this post. I just went back and checked and turned on the shower, so I think we will be good.

 

[Footnotegirl]

There is less danger of just the fumes mixing, but if there's a lot of fumes from each, then yes, that could be very, very bad. Bleach and Ammonia mixed together basically becomes Nerve Gas.
Since you state that your bathroom has neither a fan nor windows (eek) I suggest that you open the door to your bathroom, open all the windows you can, and put a floor fan if you have one in front of the door of the bathroom blowing out, and get out of the house for a couple of hours. The fumes have to be in a fairly enclosed space to be a serious issue on the scale of the amount you would create in your home, so a couple hours to dissipate should do it.
If at any point you feel dizzy, faint, or have trouble focussing or staying awake, get out, stay out, and call emergency services.

 

[dejr_8]

There is less danger of just the fumes mixing, but if there's a lot of fumes from each, then yes, that could be very, very bad. Bleach and Ammonia mixed together basically becomes Nerve Gas.
Since you state that your bathroom has neither a fan nor windows (eek) I suggest that you open the door to your bathroom, open all the windows you can, and put a floor fan if you have one in front of the door of the bathroom blowing out, and get out of the house for a couple of hours. The fumes have to be in a fairly enclosed space to be a serious issue on the scale of the amount you would create in your home, so a couple hours to dissipate should do it.
If at any point you feel dizzy, faint, or have trouble focussing or staying awake, get out, stay out, and call emergency services.

They do not make Nerve gas, they make chlorine gas.

 

[sbell111]

They do not make Nerve gas, they make chlorine gas.

Actually, neither is correct. Chlorine gas is simply chlorine (Cl2) as a gas. The combination of chlorine bleach and ammonia creates NH2Cl and NH2Cl2, nasty stuff. These gases decompose in water (like in your lungs) as ammonia gas and hypochlorous acid, which further breaks down into hydrochloric acid and monoatomic oxygen, which are highly reactive and can lead to pulmonary edema and pneumonia.

 

[Footnotegirl]

I stand corrected on the Nerve Gas thing. It was how it was explained to me, and confused somewhat by the fact that this very mixture is sometimes called 'poor mans nerve gas' due to its effectiveness even though it acts in a very different way.
But it is still very, very bad. Also, lots of other interesting horrible things can happen if you mix the two in different proportions, as I learned here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A795611

 

[sbell111]

I stand corrected on the Nerve Gas thing. It was how it was explained to me, and confused somewhat by the fact that this very mixture is sometimes called 'poor mans nerve gas' due to its effectiveness even though it acts in a very different way.
But it is still very, very bad. Also, lots of other interesting horrible things can happen if you mix the two in different proportions, as I learned here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A795611

Truth is, the words 'agent orange' always come out of my mouth when I'm telling my wife not to mix them. I have no clue why.

 

[Mandy_in_NC]

Mustard Gas.