In recent years the popularity of natural products has grown exponentially, resulting in many of the products of our day-to-day that we would usually buy from a supermarket or a store. We begin to make them ourselves in our homes in a totally artisanal way.
This custom also extends to household cleaning products, increasing the risk of possible household accidents or the appearance of health problems due to the improper handling of chemicals necessary for cleaning.
In fact, the real danger lies in their mistaken belief that if an ingredient is of natural origin it cannot be toxic. This idea has no validity, much less when it comes to the combination of chemical agents that can lead to serious poisoning.
Below we will explain those mixtures that under no circumstances should you carry out in your home.
Bleach and ammonia
In household hygiene the two cleaning products that cannot be missing are bleach and ammonia, however these two should always be used separately.
Experts strongly prohibit the mixing of these two products, since they give rise to toxic gases called Chloramines.
This type of breathing gas could cause different symptoms: shortness of breath, irritation of the mucous membranes in the nose and eyes, burning in the throat, chest pain and nausea.
In cases of prolonged exposure, they may cause cancer, pneumonia, and fluid build-up in the lungs.
Bleach and Vinegar
Another possible combination for creating a home-made cleaning product includes bleach and vinegar. Vinegar alone is a quite harmless product, I feel very useful for cleaning wooden floors if we previously dilute it in water.
The problem arises when we mix the vinegar with a whitening agent such as bleach. Vinegar is an acid, while bleach has a high amount of sodium hypochlorite. By combining both products we will generate what is called “Chlorine Gas”.
This gas is toxic and if inhaled we could begin to develop different symptoms, such as: pneumonia, shortness of breath, chest pain, cough and eye, nose and throat irritations.
If such exposure is proposed over time, the effects could worsen, even becoming fatal and irremediable.
Rubbing Alcohol and Bleach
The combination of alcohol and bleach gives rise to a well-known product, although without any cleaning use: chloroform.
Chloroform is well known as the solution most commonly used by thieves or murderers to lull their victims to sleep. If it comes to that, and you suddenly feel like being a secret agent, and you yourself, the factories, you need to know what’s very dangerous.
Because if you inhale it long enough you may experience drowsiness, eye irritation, nervous system disorder, lung damage and skin irritations.
This last symptom may sound strange to you, as it is a gas that is inhaled and not touched. But the truth is that chloroform is a layer of being absorbed by our skin, something that many are unaware of.
Vinegar and hydrogen peroxide
This unusual combination is often used as a hospital disinfectant because it has a strong bactericidal action.
However, just as in the mixture of vinegar and bleach, the solution resulting from the mixture of these two components is highly toxic, especially if done manually and without using the appropriate dosage.
The product of this combination is called Peracetic Acid, which if inhaled can cause irritation of the mucous membranes and airways. If exposure is constant, permanent lung damage could occur, leading to cancer and death.
The conclusion to all this is simple: the handling of cleaning products must always be done under the supervision of a professional, with the appropriate protective equipment and following the relevant protocols established for its correct elaboration.
Therefore, since all this equipment is very unlikely to be available in households, we will have to settle for using basic products or simply mixing bleach with water.
The rest of the experiments will be better left to professionals in the sector, for our own safety.
Dashing Maids can help you with your natural cleaning needs. Give us a call today to schedule your next cleaning.
