The Cleaning Ingredient To Avoid Mixing With Rubbing Alcohol At All Costs

Rubbing alcohol can be used for many different purposes around the house. From banishing germs from surfaces to removing ink stains and, of course, using it as an antiseptic when you get a graze, it's incredibly useful to have around. However, one mistake you don't want to make when cleaning with rubbing alcohol, also sometimes referred to as isopropyl alcohol, is to mix it with bleach. This is because the two ingredients create a substance called chloroform when combined, which is toxic and can be incredibly harmful to your health.

You may know not to mix ammonia and bleach together, but bleach and rubbing alcohol also have a similar negative effect (though they make different harmful substances). While the ingredients are fine used separately and make for great cleaners, they should under no circumstances be used together. Here's all you need to know about why to avoid this cleaning combination and things to watch out for if you regularly clean with them.

As mentioned, when bleach and rubbing alcohol are mixed together, they make chloroform. Chloroform can be used for chemical and scientific purposes and sometimes to make various products, but it has no place in your home. While it's unlikely you'll inhale enough of the substance to make you faint, it could still cause harmful side effects. When inhaled, chloroform can lead to nausea and stomach upset in mild doses, as well as damage to your kidney, liver, and blood in a worst-case scenario.

It can even lead to death, though, again, this is unlikely to occur if you create chloroform while cleaning rather than being exposed to it in another way. Even if you take precautions like opening a window and keeping doors ajar when cleaning, it just isn't worth the risk of mixing these two ingredients together to get your bathroom or kitchen looking sparkly clean.

There can even be a crossover between bleach and rubbing alcohol without you directly mixing them together. One such way is if you clean with bleach and then clean something in the same room with rubbing alcohol later. Because of this, it's best to never use the products in the same place on the same day. In fact, we don't even recommend storing the bottles together in your cleaning cupboard to minimize the risk of creating chloroform as much as possible.

You don't need to worry about using rubbing alcohol and bleach to clean separately so long as you ensure they never come into contact and that you have left a long enough gap in between cleaning with them. If you do feel there has been a crossover between the ingredients, leave the contaminated area and contact a medical professional as soon as possible to get advice and ensure your safety.