Mixing Cleaners

2010-10-18, isabellencm

In general, mixing cleaning products is not a good idea. There are such a wide variety of products and ingredients used, that you never know when you may be blending two reactive chemicals, or producing toxic fumes. In some cases, the different ingredients will neutralize each other and weaken the cleaning power, rather than strengthening it.

Dangerous Mixtures of Common Household Cleaners

Do NOT mix bleach with acidic toilet bowl cleaners. This can result in toxic fumes.
Keep acids away from bleach (even mild acids such as vinegar). The addition of acid to bleach produces a toxic chlorine vapor.
Ammonia and bleach produce toxic fumes. We all know that ammonia is commonly used in window cleaners, but it is also found in a variety of other cleaning products.
Avoid mixing highly alkaline (base) with highly acidic products. These can causes splashes and chemical burns when they are united.
Disinfectants should not be mixed with other cleaners or detergents. If the other product contains “quaternary ammonia,” it can neutralize the disinfectant.
Chlorine bleach is also listed as “sodium hydrochloride” or “hydrochloride” on product labels.
Check all labels carefully, but as a general rule of thumb, use the product as it was designed – on its own.