Can you mix bleach and baking soda?
Perhaps, you are the type that uses bleach on a normal day but wants to improvise and see the effects or results of mixing bleach with baking soda; then this question is sure to keep running through your mind!
And the answer is “yes.”
Taking a closer look at this particular question, the baking soda that is being sought after is not a cleaning agent, and thus, this property has made it safer to mix with bleach!
Cleaning Hacks? Try it or not?
Tough stains? Looking for an effective and quick removal process? Been on the internet to search about it?
Then you must have also come across numerous DIY hacks on the internet, and from there, many ideas spur up. These cleaning hacks engage you to find the least of the things you have at home very useful and appear in handy! So then, one must have thought about trying out a few or not.
However, most of these internet-birthed hacks are usually “dangerous” and can be effective as well!
Caution: Never make the mistake of mixing bleach with any cleaning agents, e.g., Vinegar.
Is it safe to mix bleach and baking soda?
The adding together or a mixture of baking soda and bleach is not in any way harmful!!!
As mentioned earlier, baking soda is not a cleaning agent; it does not give out toxic gases like “chloramine,” unlike others (cleaning agents) in a mixture with bleach.
Baking soda, a natural stain remover like we all know, is one of the safest alternatives for cleaning! This means that it has its diverse cleaning usefulness in the home.
Other uses of baking soda in the home?
Aside from cleaning purposes, baking soda, also called Sodium bicarbonate, is usually used in baking because of its leavening properties. It produces carbon dioxide, which is used to make the dough rise! Other household and health benefits of baking soda, Includes:
Getting rid of unpleasant smells: just by placing a cup in your shoe closet, toilet, refrigerator, or any closed space, helps to get rid of their unworthy and unhealthy smells.
Removal of gout grime and other stains: mixing it with water to make a thick paste.
Teeth whitening purpose
According to research, it is said that many kinds of toothpaste containing baking soda are best for plaque removal and teeth whitening because of baking soda’s mild abrasive properties; there is usually a break in the bond of molecules that stains the teeth. It contains antimicrobial and antibacterial properties that enable it to fight against harmful bacteria.
Skin burn and itchy skin relief
Just by having a soda bath, your itchy skin gets treated, and also it soothes itching from sunburn.
Weedkillers
weeds are unwanted plants that grow in pathways and driveways. Total elimination of weed is by using a chemical weed killer, but baking soda is an alternative, and it is cheaper and safer due to its high sodium content that places weeds in harsh environmental conditions!
What are the safety measures to follow when mixing bleach with baking soda? after mixing?
Since it is bleach you are working on, then to mix it with some of this cleaning agent, you have to be careful carrying out the procedures.
You do not just get baking soda anyhow, hence make sure to use an unopened one!
- Bleach is a powerful example of a very dangerous chemical. Thus, you must be careful when handling it.
- Immediately after mixtures, sealing is necessary and should be stored in a well-ventilated space or room. Making it and kept under a favorable room temperature.
- Keep out of reach for children.
- Do not forget to put on your glove, as it is very important when mixing or dealing with chemicals.
Leave your windows and doors open for proper ventilation.
Hot water mix?
Then keep your fingers crossed because a pretty harmful chemical reaction is likely to occur! It will be releasing a dangerous poisonous chemical reaction that can result in suffocation, nose and eye irritation.
This is why it is not advisable to mix diluted bleach with hot water!
Practical Test!
Just as we now know that mixing bleach with baking soda is very safe, you should also know that to confirm other home remedies like; Vinegar, toilet bowl, and alcohol, you can “test beforehand”!
Using a small proportion as a practical, to know the result and whether it is safe or not.
Bleach and baking soda ratio
This has to be done with you being strict with the amount that is enough to carry out your task!
For laundry purposes:
- Take half a cup of each(baking soda and bleach) and mix!
- Dilute the mix in water with clothes
For black mold removal:
- Usually a paste! Leaving your mixture in a paste form is more manageable
- Then, it will be much easier to apply the paste through the walls.
How to make a paste?
This is done by mixing one or two tablespoons of baking soda with two cups of water directly. Make sure you carry out these procedures using a well-ventilated area with safety gear. The protective equipment worn should be covering your eyes, hands, face, and any other exposed parts of your skin to avoid bare contact with chemicals.
After achieving a paste form, please leave it soaked in grout lines of tile walls, make it sit for twenty-four (24) hours in a well-ventilated area or room.
During this process, ensure that you close off the room while it is soaking and keep away children and pets from the area. Finally, after twenty-four (24) hours, the mix is capable of removing any black molds.
Baking soda and bleach reaction
When you want to improvise, you will try mixing bleach with baking soda, and their cleaning properties improve.
So chemically when mixed.
They do not release chloramine, a toxic gas like other cleaning agents do.
Sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide are the active ingredients present in some household bleach and work so well in whitening clothes! And baking soda, similar to bleach, has a higher pH, so they both remove odor and break up grease or chromophores.
Why mix bleach and baking soda?
To make top-notch chemistry! That is why baking soda is being mixed with bleach which already has its active ingredient called “sodium hypochlorite,” which releases oxygen to bleach things.
Bleach and baking soda for cleaning?
Usually, the sole aim of using this mixture is for cleaning purposes. It is also a DIY cleaning hack that is made for getting rid of tough household stains.
These tough stains can be found on: clothes, walls, bathrooms, etc., and at the same time, generally an all-purpose cleaner.
All-purpose cleaning
Cleaning is usually needed for almost every corner, including tools, floors, walls, sinks, drains, toilets, bowls, and laundry. With bleach and baking soda mixture together, you will get a shiny and bright effect.
Clothes and whitening
Other products might be unable to give your faded white cloth its color, but with baking soda and bleach, your white cloth gets restored to its quality and originality! Since these two are natural stain removers. In addition, baking soda helps mask the strong bleach smell, giving you a fresh and bright cloth.
Wall and mold cleaning
Mostly this mold appears at the corner of your shower, and the accumulation can trigger allergic reactions. Baking soda is a natural disinfectant combined with bleach and can form an effective treatment for removing hard-to-combat mold.
What are the products never to mix with bleach?
Bleach can give a dangerous chemical reaction and release a poisonous gas called ” chloramine” when mixed with products that are chemically cleaning agents. The following are the products that you should not make the mistake of mixing with bleach:
Bleach and Vinegar
Although Vinegar seems the harmless reverse is the case when it gets mixed with bleach. In combination, there is an eruption of chloramine gas which causes coughing and irritation of mucous membranes. If the concentration is high enough, it leads to chemical burns. Other acids aside from vinegar produce chlorine gas when mixed with bleach, some of which are lemon and some toilet bowl cleaners.
Bleach and alcohol
This can be very dangerous, and it would knock you out and leave you lying where you cannot move yourself to get fresh air. The combination of bleach with alcohol yields chloroform, and that is responsible for making you pass out!
Aside from chloroform, other substances that can be produced include; hydrochloric acid, dichloroacetate( that can cause organ damage, cancer, and other various diseases), and chloroacetone.
Bleach and ammonia
Usually is already known as a “no-go-area” when it comes to bleach. Most of these cleaner’s products out there already contain ammonia(e.g., mildew cleaner) which is a problem and is dangerous. When you then mix bleach with other cleaning agents because it might be unknown to you be quick to realize that a certain product already has ammonia in it!
In combination, they produce Chloramine gas, which can burn your respiratory tract and your eyes, too, leading to internal organ damage.
On higher concentrations of ammonia, it produces hydrazine which is usually explosive and toxic.
What can you mix bleach with?
The answer to this question is that “bleach should only be mixed with water” as there could be “no harmful effect” and it would not later threaten health. You can also mix bleach with laundry detergent in the washing machine. The mixture of bleach with other cleaning products aside from these two leads to the production of hazardous gases! Because most of these products contain acids.
Read Also: How to dispose of bleach with a septic system
Health dangers of mixing bleach with other cleaning products
They result to:
- Wheezing
- Pneumonia and fluids in the lungs
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea
And lots more!
Conclusion
Now, with all that you have read! You can draw out that “mixing bleach and baking soda” is the safest and best cleaning product. Combined, these two results in giving you superb cleaning power, leaving your laundry white and surfaces sparkling!
