One of the most asked questions this month has been about combining cleaning products. We have this information throughout various posts, but thought it would be good to have one post dedicated for you to reference. These are cleaning products you SHOULD not mix together.

This is an obvious thing for many store-bought products, but isn’t always apparent for those who like to mix up things at home.

People are concerned more than ever about sanitizing their home, so this post is important to make sure you don’t create something toxic.

Make sure you save this post for reference.

Cleaning Products You Should Not Mix Together

Bleach + Anything

I have talked about bleach often on Chemistry Cachet. I don’t use it in my home because of family members with breathing issues. With more and more concerns growing about sanitation in 2020, bleach is coming up. Yes, it is incredible at disinfecting. It will kill everything! 

I see reports online warning people not to mix with ammonia or alcohol, but you really shouldn’t mix bleach with anything besides water for cleaning. You can dilute bleach according to CDC recommendations. Bleach already has toxic fumes, so it is best to not increase this. Dilute it heavily with water for the most safe application. While you shouldn’t mix bleach with anything, here are a few things to be extra cautious about with bleach. I am reiterating these points below because they have been asked so many times the last few weeks.

Bleach and Dishwashing Liquid

Dishwashing liquids typically contain ammonia. Ammonia is highly toxic combined with bleach and forms a strong gas. Here is some more details from Huff Post.

Bleach and Vinegar

Bleach with vinegar creates chlorine gas. Bleach plus any type of acid can cause this. Now, you might have read our recipe for making DIY cut flower food. This uses bleach GRANULES and citrus to mimic the packages you get for flowers. This uses solid bleach and weak acids, so it is safe…but should still be used with caution. You can read more in the post.

Bleach and Rubbing Alcohol

This creates chloroform. So, especially don’t use these two together. I have had this question so many times on our DIY Clorox wipes. You can read more about the dangers of bleach and alcohol in this article from ABC. If you are using it for laundry purposes, you can read more here about safety.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Vinegar

We talked about this in a few posts. I see so many recipes online combining the two , but it is highly toxic. It forms peracetic acid which is dangerous.

Store-bought Disinfectants And Dishwashing Liquid

Honestly, if you are using a store-bought cleaner of any kind, you should not be combining it with anything else. They have many ingredients put together for proper disinfecting, so it is not safe to mix them with anything else like dishwashing liquids.

Vinegar and Baking Soda

I have seen dozens of recipes online combing both vinegar and baking soda in a bottle. There are a few reasons you don’t want to combine those together. First, it doesn’t benefit you in any way! If you want to use vinegar and baking soda, the key is the carbon dioxide they release. You won’t get this benefit combining them in one bottle together. It will react, fizz, and dissipate quickly. Instead, you can combine them separately for things like this carpet cleaner. Second, the end results is a salt when you combine baking soda and vinegar. So, in a bottle, you are just creating a salty solution. It won’t clean anything. Be sure to read this thorough post on combing baking soda and vinegar.

What you can mix with everything:

Water! Water is great for thinning, stretching, or combining things. Water is great for mixing up essential oils too. It is the base of many DIY cleaners for a reason.

If you like making your own cleaners or putting stuff together, you can check out our cleaning tab here or our eBook! All of the DIY cleaners we have in the eBook are very mild and safe to mix up. They clean well, but make sure you aren’t putting together anything dangerous!

Cleaning vs Disinfecting

I am adding this section in here again to make sure everyone understands. There is a big difference between cleaning and disinfecting. I have received dozens of emails about our DIY clorox wipes. Why is it diluted with water? Why not use straight alcohol? The biggest reason for this is safety. When you make homemade cleaners, you want them to clean surfaces SAFELY. There are many factors you can’t control or add to homemade solutions.

Be sure to check out this recent post about keeping germs out of your home. We go into detail on this subject so you can be sure to clean plus disinfect your home.

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