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Chemicals You Should Never Mix
Household Chemicals That Don't Belong Together
by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Some common household
chemicals should never be mixed.
They may react to produce a
toxic or deadly compound or they may cause undesirable consequences. Here's
what you need to know.
Bleach + Ammonia = Toxic Chloramine Vapor
Bleach and ammonia are two common household
cleaners that should never be mixed.
They react together to form toxic chloramine
vapors and may lead to the production of poisonous hydrazine.
What It Does: Chloramine
burns your eyes and respiratory system and can lead to internal organ damage.
If there is enough ammonia in
the mixture, hydrazine may be produced.
Hydrazine is not only toxic but also
potentially explosive. The best-case scenario is discomfort; the worst-case
scenario is death.
Bleach + Rubbing Alcohol =
Toxic Chloroform
The sodium hypochlorite in household bleach
reacts with ethanol or isopropanol in rubbing alcohol to produce chloroform.
Other nasty compounds that may be produced
include chloroacetone, dichloroacetone, and hydrochloric acid.
What It Does: Breathing
enough chloroform will knock you out, which will make you unable to move to
fresh air. Breathing too much can kill you.
Hydrochloric acid can give you
a chemical burn. The chemicals can cause organ damage and lead to cancer and
other diseases later in life.
Bleach + Vinegar = Toxic
Chlorine Gas
Are you noticing a common theme here? Bleach
is a highly reactive chemical that should not be mixed with other cleaners.
Some people mix bleach and vinegar to
increase the cleaning power of the chemicals. It's not a good idea because
the reaction produces chlorine gas.
The reaction isn't limited to vinegar (weak
acetic acid). Avoid mixing other household acids with bleach, such as lemon
juice or some toilet bowl cleaners.
What It Does: Chlorine
gas has been used as a chemical warfare agent, so it's not something you want
to be producing and inhaling in your home.
Chlorine attacks the skin,
mucous membranes, and respiratory system. As best, it will make you cough and
irritate your eyes, nose, and mouth.
It can give you a chemical burn and could be
deadly if you are exposed to a high concentration or are unable to get to fresh
air.
Vinegar + Peroxide =
Peracetic Acid
You might be tempted to mix chemicals to make
a more powerful product, but cleaning products are the worst choice for playing
home chemist!
Vinegar (weak acetic acid) combines with
hydrogen peroxide to produce peracetic acid.
The resulting chemical is a more potent
disinfectant, but it's also corrosive, so you turn relatively safe household
chemicals into a dangerous one.
What It Does: Peracetic
acid can irritate your eyes and nose and may give you a chemical burn.
Peroxide
+ Henna Hair Dye = Hair Nightmare
This nasty chemical reaction is most likely
to be encountered if you color your hair at home.
Chemical hair dye packages warn you not
to use the product if you have colored your hair using a henna hair dye.
Similarly, henna hair coloring warns you
against using a commercial dye. Why the warning?
Henna products other than red contain
metallic salts, not just ground-up plant matter.
The metal reacts with hydrogen peroxide in
other hair colors in an exothermic reaction that can cause a skin reaction,
burn you, make your hair fall out, and produce a scary unpredictable color in
hair that remains.
What It Does: Peroxide
removes existing color from your hair, so it's easier to add a new color.
When it reacts with metal
salts (not ordinarily found in hair), it oxidizes them. This ruins the pigment
from the henna dye and does a number on your hair.
Best case scenario? Dry, damaged,
weird-colored hair. Worst case scenario? Welcome to the wonderful wide world of
wigs.
Baking Soda + Vinegar =
Mostly Water
While the previous chemicals on the list
combined to produce a toxic product, mixing baking soda and vinegar gives you
an ineffective one.
Oh, the combination is fantastic if you want
to produce carbon dioxide gas for a chemical volcano, but negates your efforts
if you intend to use the chemicals for cleaning.
What It Does: Baking
soda (sodium bicarbonate) reacts with vinegar (weak acetic acid) to produce
carbon dioxide gas, sodium acetate, and mostly water.
It's a worthwhile reaction if
you want to make hot ice. Unless you are mixing the chemicals for a
science project, don't bother.
AHA/Glycolic Acid + Retinol =
Waste of $$$
Skincare products that actually work to
lessen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles include alpha-hydroxy acids
(AHAs), glycolic acid, and retinol.
Layering these products won't make you
wrinkle-free. In fact, the acids reduce the effectiveness of retinol.
What It Does: Skincare
products work best at a certain acidity level or pH range.
When you mix products, you
can change the pH, making your expensive skin care regimen pointless. Best case
scenario?
The AHA and glycolic acid loosen dead skin,
but you get no bang for your buck from the retinol.
Worst case scenario? You get added skin
irritation and sensitivity, plus you wasted money.
You can use the two sets of products, but you
need to allow time for one to be completely absorbed before applying the other.
Another option is to alternate which type you use.
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
· Ph.D.
in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak
Ridge National Laboratory.
· Science
educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and
physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
· ThoughtCo
and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.
· Widely-published
graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other
illustrations used in science.
Experience
Anne
Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education
since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology,
astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing
diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.
In
addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a
scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary
approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college
professor.
Education
Dr.
Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor
in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine
developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.
Anne
Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
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