Why You Must Never Mix Cleaners

0:00Many people think that mixing two cleaners makes a stronger cleaner. Is that true?

0:06Start with bleach. Household bleach is a solution of a chemical called sodium hypochlorite.

0:13Some glass cleaners contain a different chemical, called ammonia.

0:18If the two are mixed, they react. In a chemical reaction, the starting chemicals change into new substances.

0:26Here, the new substances include a group of gases called chloramines, which escape into the air.

0:33Chloramines are toxic, which means poisonous. Breathing them in harms the lungs.

0:39Bleach must not be mixed with an acid either, such as vinegar or some toilet cleaners.

0:46When bleach and an acid are mixed, the reaction gives off chlorine gas, a yellow-green gas that is also toxic and harms the lungs.

0:55So mixing does not make a stronger cleaner. The chemicals use each other up and give off a toxic gas instead.

1:04To stay safe, first of all, never mix cleaners.

1:08Next, open a window while you clean, so fresh air carries away any fumes, the gases a product gives off.

1:17Keep each product in its own labelled container, so no one mixes them up by mistake.

1:23Read the hazard symbols on the label. These small pictures warn how a product can harm you.

1:29If someone breathes in fumes, get them to fresh air and call poison control for advice.

1:35Remember: never mix cleaners, because some mixes give off a toxic gas.