Something I didn't know about bleach and vinegar

**MomToTwoBoys** · 11-13-2008, 10:31 PM

Oops!

I have been using bleach and vinegar on the whites due to ODS' bedwetting problems at least for the last month or so. I hate bleach but it does good at killing germs and making my whites all nice and clean!

DH and I were sitting here one night, talking about peroxide and bleach and how bad it is to put bleach and vinegar together. I was like, "What? Why?!" and then he proceeded to remind me that bleach is an acid and vinegar is a base. Oops! Omg, I think I was asleep in chem class when I learned what happens when you put those two together.

So yeah, I learned not to do it or my washer would have exploded. Oh boy.

**madhen** · 11-13-2008, 11:25 PM

Better than putting bleach and Comet together. Did that once in a closed shower stall and nearly burned my lungs off!!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 11-14-2008, 01:28 AM

Oh my, I can't even begin to imagine the fumes from that. My tolerance to just bleach alone contributes quite a bit to my hacking, coughing and scratchy throat. Now I know why they say 'use in well-ventilated areas' on the back of the Fantastik with Bleach spray bottles.

**nuisance26** · 11-14-2008, 08:33 AM

~Wow, that's pretty scary! I hope your ds hasn't had any skin reactions to any residue in the clothes. I only use bleach for two things: the inside of the toilet and diluted to disinfect my kitchen counters. It is really easy to forget how dangerous the stuff really is so I limit it's uses.~

**DJ1972** · 11-14-2008, 08:39 AM

One of the housekeepers in a nursing home I worked in mixed ammonia and bleach one day in her mop bucket...she got rushed to the ER. It took her a couple of weeks to get over that.

**Greebo** · 11-14-2008, 08:44 AM

Being an acid and a base isn't the problem. Consider that when you make quick breads, you combine an acid and a base to release gasses that make the bread rise.

The fact that bleach vinegar, when they combine, form Chlorine Gas - THATs the problem.

Chlorine Gas being toxic to life at fairly low levels of concentration and all...

**YankeeMom** · 11-14-2008, 08:53 AM

Bleach and Simple Green aren't good combos either. Had a friend who combined them to clean his bathroom once. Ended up in the hospital. It wasn't pretty.

**imagine** · 11-14-2008, 02:01 PM

vinegar is and acid

mixing acids and bases you get neutrals Nothing harmful about that and sometime quite useful. An example is baking soda and vinegar.

Greebro is right about the chlorine gas from mixing bleach with vinegar. Bleach and things containing bleach should not be mixed with other things ammonia and vinegar being a few.

As for the bed wetting laundry, we have that to at our house. Vinegar works well on it. Vinegar is a germ fighter and it whitens a bit too. Vinegar is also an odor eliminator. Works for us.

**kestrel91316** · 11-24-2008, 02:57 PM

One of the few things I remember from inorganic chemistry in college:
Acid (vinegar) + base (bleach) = salt + water
Sometimes this is an EXOTHERMIC reaction, IIRC, meaning it generates heat. Depends on which acid/base combo is used.
Ammonia + bleach is the DEADLY combo that everyone needs to guard against - it produces a deadly gas.

**Greebo** · 11-24-2008, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by kestrel91316

One of the few things I remember from inorganic chemistry in college:
Acid (vinegar) + base (bleach) = salt + water

NO

If the bleach you are using is Chlorine Bleach then ANY acid mixed with the bleach will release chlorine gas.

The chlorine isn't coming from the ammonia or the vinegar, its coming from the bleach.

**Nishu** · 11-26-2008, 10:45 AM

Hey MomToTwoBoys,

Urine is sterile. Unless your lo has UTI issues or the sheets sit for a period of time (like any other wet laundry) you really shouldn't have to worry about extra germ killing. Just something to deodorize and prevent any urine staining should be enough.

Thanks for the info about bleach and vinegar.

**Cricketlegs** · 12-30-2008, 08:54 PM

I don't even own bleach or ammonia so I am safe!

**momof2joys** · 02-13-2009, 05:01 PM

See you learn something new everyday!!! Thanks for the info!!

**ravenmaniac** · 02-13-2009, 10:13 PM

I try to clean "green". I only use bleach to mop the basement and kitchen floor. I very rarely use bleach in my laundry. I prefer non-clorine bleach or vinegar. You could gas yourself cleaning with bleach if your are not careful.