Myth or Fact: Is Mixing Bleach and Vinegar Really That Dangerous?
Both are cleaning staples, and it's tempting to think that combining them makes a stronger cleaner. Poison control experts say it makes a toxic gas instead.
By Sophie LaurentDesign & Garden Editor
Vinegar cuts limescale and grease. Bleach disinfects. Combine them and you get a super-cleaner, right? This is one cleaning hack you should never try.
Of all the cleaning warnings online, this is one that holds up completely.
Why it happens
Household chlorine bleach contains sodium hypochlorite. When it meets an acid, it releases chlorine gas. Vinegar is a solution of acetic acid, so it does exactly that. The National Capital Poison Center (Poison Control) states plainly that mixing bleach with an acid forms chlorine gas, and its safety advice is not to mix vinegar with chlorine bleach (Poison Control; Poison Control on vinegar).
The Ontario Poison Centre gives the same warning and names common acids found at home, including vinegar and toilet bowl cleaners. It says the gases produced when bleach is mixed with acids or ammonia are very irritating to inhale and can cause coughing, chest tightness, wheezing and headache (Ontario Poison Centre).
It doesn't take a deliberate mix. Poison Control describes a case in which a woman cleaned a toilet with an acid-based cleaner, forgot to flush, then added a bleach cleaner. Her eyes watered and she began coughing almost at once.
Other combinations to avoid
- Bleach and ammonia, found in some glass cleaners: releases chloramine gas.
- Bleach and acidic cleaners, such as many toilet, limescale and rust removers: releases chlorine gas.
- Two different toilet or drain products one after the other: read both labels first and flush or rinse in between.
The general rule is simple: use one product at a time, follow the label, and keep the room ventilated.
What to do if you've mixed them
- Leave the room straight away and get into fresh air.
- Open a window only if you can do it quickly, then stay out.
- In the US, call Poison Help on 1-800-222-1222. Elsewhere, call your local poison centre.
- If anyone has trouble breathing or collapses, call the emergency services.
How to use each one properly
Use vinegar for limescale on taps and kettles and, diluted, on glass. Avoid it on natural stone such as marble, which acids can etch. Use bleach diluted as the label says, for disinfecting, and rinse the surface well and air the room before using any other product.
The bottom line
Bleach and vinegar are both useful, just never together. Clean with one, rinse, and only then reach for the other.
Sources
- National Capital Poison Center, Chlorine Gas
- National Capital Poison Center, Vinegar
- Ontario Poison Centre, Bleach
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