When it comes to cleaning, there is a never-ending search for effective cleaning solutions. The cleaning process can be tough, but these solutions can make it easier and faster. One popular solution is a mixture of bleach and baking soda.
Have you tried it? What do you think of it? Let’s get talking about it. Let’s talk about the safety of mixing these two solutions.
Is It Safe to Mix Bleach and Baking Soda?
Baking soda is one prominent cleaning item. It is excellent for removing bad odor in fridges, bins, and other places. It also acts as an abrasive. It is generally an excellent cleaning item, and every clean freak keeps it at home. The same can be said about bleach.
Bleach is also great for whitening things, and it also acts as a disinfectant. However, it does not have grits to make scrubbing easy. But does that mean their cleaning capacities will double when you bring them together?
Mixing the two makes it something to scrub with. But remember to mix the bleach with a lot of water. It is safe to mix the two, and they tend to be a bit more effective than using either of them.
Now that we have established that it is safe to mix them, let’s talk about the cleaning mixtures you should avoid at all costs.
Cleaning Mixtures to Avoid
Bleach and Vinegar
This combination may sound like the most effective cleaning solution, but it is also harmful. When you mix these, it produces chlorine gas.
This gas is toxic even when produced at lower levels. It can cause breathing problems, coughing, and even watery eyes.
Bleach and Ammonia
Bleach works well with baking soda but not Ammonia. When you mix these two, it produces a harmful gas called chloramine. It presents the same effect as that of bleach and vinegar.
Apart from the coughing, breathing problems, and watery eyes symptoms, it also causes chest pains. You should also note that most glass cleaning solutions contain Ammonia.
Hence, it is a bad idea to mix them with bleach.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
Yes, you can clean with baking soda, and you can also clean with vinegar. Each of them works as a perfect cleaning solution, but it is not a good idea to combine them.
Baking soda is basic, while vinegar is acidic. When you mix the two, you get water and acetate. The vinegar causes the baking soda to foam up, and when you keep it in a closed container, it can explode.
Read more about substitution of Baking Soda here.
Bleach and Rubbing Alcohol
The truth is that mixing bleach with any other liquid apart from water can be dangerous. The combination of bleach and vinegar forms a mixture that toxic and irritating.
Two Drain Cleaners
The content of some drain cleaners does not mix well with others. They can produce a result that can be disastrous. It can even explode. Do not even use one drain cleaner right after the other.
Since it is difficult to check the chemical composition of every cleaner before mixing, it is safe to avoid mixing them altogether.
Hydrogen Peroxide and Vinegar
Yes, you can use these two products, one after the other. Cleaning experts say you can wipe down your surfaces clean by first spraying hydrogen peroxide and then vinegar. You can also spray your fruits with these liquids.
But do not mix the two in a bottle. It will be toxic and will irritate your eyes. It can even affect your respiratory system.
Bleach and Pee
These two are not something you will deliberately mix, but many internet users have asked this question, and we still think it is a valid question.
After all, you can use bleach to clean your toilet bowl, and you may need to urinate while cleaning. Pee contains Ammonia, but pee is mostly water. In fact, it is 95% water, which means that the ammonia content is not high enough to cause any harmful reaction.
Although the impact is negligible, you may consider flushing the toilet before peeing when you have bleach in it.
Now that we have talked about the liquids that you should not mix with either bleach or vinegar. Now, let’s get talking about some uses of the bleach and vinegar solution.
Read More Here: Can You Vacuum Glass?
Common Uses of Bleach and Baking Soda
Doing the Laundry
People use bleach to get rid of stubborn stains in clothes. If you are washing color clothes or towels, you can use bleach to clean them so that you will get the white color.
Adding baking soda makes it even nicer. Doing this also makes washing easier. The baking soda acts as a boasting agent for the bleach. It also softens the clothes and absorbs some of the bleach’s smell.
The baking soda also makes your washing machine clean.
Cleaning Walls
Some walls need some scrubbing to get them looking attractive. You can make a paste of baking soda and bleach and scrub the walls with it. Your walls will look as good as new.
Simply mix the two in a bowl and then apply it on the wall. Now use a brush to wipe everything down. Make sure the place is well ventilated so that the air does not become unhealthy for you.
Wear protective clothing such as gloves, protective mask, and safety goggles to provide maximum protection.
Clearing Molds
No one likes the growth of molds. They make places look unkempt and gross. Molds can grow in areas that will destroy the beauty of your home. Don’t let them stay there for too long.
A mixture of bleach and baking soda will help you get rid of them. Mix them into a paste in a bowl and apply it to the affected places.
Once again, open your windows to allow enough air into your room. Wear protective clothing and use a brush to scrub the area.
General Cleaning
This mixture is excellent at cleaning grout and other stains. You can use it to scrub your sinks, tubs, and anywhere that needs scrubbing.
Spread the paste around the area and let it sit for some time. It will clear the stains and make scrubbing easy. Additionally, use the best vacuum cleaner for laminate floors with mixtures to get the best results where you are ready for deep cleaning.
Best Practices for Bleach
Bleach is an excellent whitener, but it can be harmful to your health if it is not treated right.
- Concentrated bleach is harmful; mix it with water. Ideally, you should mix one part of bleach with ten parts of bleach. Diluted bleach is more effective compared to undiluted bleach. Hence, don’t be reluctant to dilute it, thinking it will reduce its effectiveness.
- As we mentioned earlier, don’t mix it with vinegar or Ammonia.
- Do not mix bleach with hot water as well. Although we keep mentioning that you should mix bleach with only water, we want to specify that it should be cold water.
- If you need to use bleach to clean as surface after using another cleaning agent, check the composition of that agent. Make sure that it is something that will not react badly when mixed with bleached.
- When you are using bleach, be cautious so that it does not get into your eyes or touch your skin. If it does, wash the area quickly with clean water and seek medical help.
- Use gloves when scrubbing with the bleach and baking soda paste.
How Effective is Bleach as a Disinfectant?
Bleach is great at killing fungus, viruses, and bacteria, but how good is it.
Bleach is one of the most effective disinfectants for cleaning, and you need to dilute it properly to make it more effective. But there are circumstances under which bleach could become less effective.
Yes, bleach can expire and become less effective. Bleach is usually very effective within the first six months. It begins to degrade after a year.
Bleach is a strong disinfectant, and you must be careful regarding the things you use it to clean. If you have kids at home, you should be cautious about using bleach.
Remember not to leave it lying around. And since kids sometimes put their hands in their mouths irrespective of the places they have touched, guard them against areas you have freshly cleaned with bleach.
Although bleach is not known to present any harmful health risks when used in cleaning, do not use it for places where you handle food often. You may think it is a good idea to use bleach for the stubborn stains in your fridge, but we believe there are better options.
The bleach will clean it thoroughly, but we are concerned about how well you will wash the bleach off. To save yourself from all the stress of making sure every bleach stain is off, use vinegar, baking soda, or lemon juice.
Read More: What is the Average Size of a Bedroom?
They can equally help you get rid of such stains, and you don’t need to worry about any chemical.
Finally, let’s give a definite answer to the question we have been answering all along. Yes, mixing bleach and baking soda really works for cleaning. The powers of the two cleaning agents combined doubles their effectiveness.