Household Chemicals – 3 Common Dangers

When cleaning homes, it is often believed that strong household chemicals are necessary to achieve a “clean” result. Over time, it has been understood that certain substances do not work as effectively on their own, and mixing various household chemicals can lead to different reactions that seemingly help achieve the desired outcome more easily. Consequently, people might mix various cleaning agents at home, which should never actually be done as these mixtures can harm the user’s health and/or damage the surfaces where the product is used.

Our experience has shown that one of the biggest mistakes in home cleaning is the indiscriminate purchase and incorrect use of cleaning agents. For instance, in the spring of 2020 during the quarantine, the number of accidents related to household chemicals increased dramatically. (Data from the Health Board)

Most Common Dangerous Combinations of Household Chemicals:

1. Chlorine and Acid (e.g. chlorine + vinegar). A common mistake involves bathroom products found on store shelves; their combined use can generate health-damaging fumes.
2. Adding different drain cleaners one after another into pipes can generate dangerous fumes. For instance, there has been a case where the harmful fumes produced damaged all the shiny surfaces in an entire room.
3. Baking Soda and Vinegar – This combination creates a “fizzing reaction” that produces carbon dioxide, which can, in turn, cause irritation and suffocation (depending on the amount inhaled). Using vinegar and baking soda separately for various cleaning tasks at home is appropriate. Baking soda is an excellent grease solvent, and vinegar (citric acid) is effective for removing deposits.

Read a brief summary of cleaning chemistry through a scientist’s eyes.

Important! Different substances should not be used together, as those without expertise cannot predict the chemical reactions that may occur. Consider the chemical compound of table salt NaCl, which we also consume. However, Na as a separate chemical element is a soft, highly reactive metal, while Cl is a poisonous gas. When mixing different substances, the product may be something unexpected.

We also discussed home cleaning on Terevisioon.