“There are two types of cleaning products: bleach and things that should never be mixed with bleach”. To what extent is this true? And why?

Question

u/shaneoffood posted this comment in a discussion about unscented laundry detergents.

I’m familiar with the fact that ammonia and bleach creating something like chlorine gas, and I get that mixing different elements can cause them to react.

But is the original comment a good rule of thumb? Are there exceptions? And why do they make “the best” cleaning products?

In: 491

Answer 1

It is somewhat true, but really there are 2 types of cleaners. Oxidizers and Acids.

You never want to mix Oxidizers with anything including other oxidizers. Acids are usually fine to mix with other acids but still not great.

As an example vinegar and peroxide create a pretty severe acid.

Bleach is the worst though. Ammonia and bleach? toxic gas. Peroxide and Bleach? potential explosion. Alcohol and Bleach? chloroform.

In general, just don’t mix cleaners. Especially basic single ingredient ones.

There are some good ways to mix oxidizers as well though. For example, mixing baking soda with vinegar is good for lifting stains. There are also 2 part cleaners that use an acid as one step and an oxidizer to neutralize the acid after.