It forms a gas called chloramine, (NH2CL and NHCL2).
When it reacts with the moisture in your body, it breaks down in to hydrochloric acid (HCl) and ammonia (NH3), which are highly corrosive and can severely damage your lungs, eyes, nose, and throat.
My mom mixed bleach and ammonia together in the bathroom once. Her grandma told her to close the bathroom door, put a wet towel at the crack at the bottom and wait until tomorrow before going in, disposing of the mixture and cleaning all the surfaces.
Was there any wisdom to this? Or was it an old wives method.
Sounds like a pretty reasonable reaction. The wet both seals the bathroom, and provide moisture with the chloramine to react with. And it is pretty unstable, so waiting a day for it to dissipate is plenty.
Chloramine is pretty unpleasant, but it isn't nerve gas. It is dangerous because it is easy to accidentally create, and that accident is likely to happen in a closed, unventilated space.
It forms a gas called chloramine, (NH2CL and NHCL2).
When it reacts with the moisture in your body, it breaks down in to hydrochloric acid (HCl) and ammonia (NH3), which are highly corrosive and can severely damage your lungs, eyes, nose, and throat.
Many people die this way each year.
My mom mixed bleach and ammonia together in the bathroom once. Her grandma told her to close the bathroom door, put a wet towel at the crack at the bottom and wait until tomorrow before going in, disposing of the mixture and cleaning all the surfaces.
Was there any wisdom to this? Or was it an old wives method.
Sounds like a pretty reasonable reaction. The wet both seals the bathroom, and provide moisture with the chloramine to react with. And it is pretty unstable, so waiting a day for it to dissipate is plenty.
Chloramine is pretty unpleasant, but it isn't nerve gas. It is dangerous because it is easy to accidentally create, and that accident is likely to happen in a closed, unventilated space.