My janitor mixed bleach with some pine sol to clean the floor

[NY Annie]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

I thought Pine Sol had ammonia?

Thanks for the correction

You're welcome

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

It is a type of phenol disinfectant, It has an oil or coal tar in it, I think Lysol is similar. Its prolly more effective than bleach so why mix them anyway

According to the MSDS, Pine Sol has pine oil and alcohol. Period.

Lysol 4in1 has ammonium chloride and ethynol - and I would not combine bleach with it (because of the "ammonium") just to be safe. I'm not a chemist and I didn't find anything to state that ammonium chloride is the same as ammonia, but I don't take chances. (Ammonium chloride is used in many medications: from cold/cough medicine to viagra.)

Ammonia and chlorine mixed are extremely poisonous. My friend's mother died as a result of using bleach where she had already put a product containing ammonia. She didn't make sure to rinse it before using a bleach product. Her lungs were seared and she didn't recover.

When in doubt, don't mix bleach with anything - or ammonia with anything other than water and vinegar (A GREAT cleaning product). But don't get paranoid either. Look it up.

BTW, the MSDS (manufacturer safety data sheet) for all products is available online. And I did google Pine Sol and read the MSDS. Do NOT confuse pine sol with other pine detergents which may not be pure pine oil.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by NY Annie

You're welcome



According to the MSDS, Pine Sol has pine oil and alcohol. Period.

Lysol 4in1 has ammonium chloride and ethynol - and I would not combine bleach with it (because of the "ammonium") just to be safe. I'm not a chemist and I didn't find anything to state that ammonium chloride is the same as ammonia, but I don't take chances. (Ammonium chloride is used in many medications: from cold/cough medicine to viagra.)

Ammonia and chlorine mixed are extremely poisonous. My friend's mother died as a result of using bleach where she had already put a product containing ammonia. She didn't make sure to rinse it before using a bleach product. Her lungs were seared and she didn't recover.

When in doubt, don't mix bleach with anything - or ammonia with anything other than water and vinegar (A GREAT cleaning product). But don't get paranoid either. Look it up.

BTW, the MSDS (manufacturer safety data sheet) for all products is available online. And I did google Pine Sol and read the MSDS. Do NOT confuse pine sol with other pine detergents which may not be pure pine oil.

Great info!

I tried to rep you, but you know the story

I owe you one!

[GrandviewGloria]

Funny Ammonia and Bleach story:

Back when I was a beginner landlord...still in college, scraping by....a truly sleazy couple simply moved into an apartment into our first building (also the first home we owned...oh, the memories...) without telling us they were subletting. Before we even knew they were there...in maybe 48 hours, they'd managed to fry so much food, the kitchen was coated in grease. The bedroom was full of swinger videos. And the commode was clogged with diapers and bathroom tissue: backing up.

There was no money for a plumber. We were students...sometimes rolling pennies to pay for food. So, I grabbed a gallon of Clorox, and started to pour: thinking I'd at least disinfect before I started reaching into that pit of horrors with my gloved hands. I may have used the plunger a bit, too. Anyway, the whole Ammonia-rich mixture of diapers and stale human fluids reacted with the bleach. Suddenly, the darn thing was foaming like a white porcelain volcano having a major eruption. Flooded the bathroom, and for a few seconds I was sure it was gonna explode.

Oy!

A little later, I reentered the bathroom. The deadly gases had, I suppose, dissipated by that point. I used a set of tacky curtains to mop up with. Eeeeeeeeeeee! How gross!

But la mode was unplugged. Friends at home, dont't try this. I could have died.

Anyway, unless there is some special risk associated with your building, or some special purpose, like a surgery clinic or daycare, Pinesol by itself should be more than adequate. Pine resin is a potent Antimicrobial, and a pretty effective solvent. Maybe alternate with a Borax and soap combination (warm water), just to be sure nothing is developing an immunity. But bleach is overkill, and not at all good for the metals in your building (or proteins...like the ones that your Janitor is made of).

[NY Annie]

Originally Posted by GrandviewGloria

Funny Ammonia and Bleach story:

Friends at home, dont't try this. I could have died.

Anyway, unless there is some special risk associated with your building, or some special purpose, like a surgery clinic or daycare, Pinesol by itself should be more than adequate. Pine resin is a potent Antimicrobial, and a pretty effective solvent. Maybe alternate with a Borax and soap combination (warm water), just to be sure nothing is developing an immunity. But bleach is overkill, and not at all good for the metals in your building (or proteins...like the ones that your Janitor is made of).

Not so funny story - I'm glad you were ok.

And fantastic info on the pinesol. It's true that pine resin is a good antimicrobial - AND it doesn't hurt septic systems. I've already begun the switch over to pine cleaner as a replacement for my beloved bleach. I love the clean smell of a bleached kitchen and it isn't overpowering or headache producing (for me) as is pine cleaner (I'm lightly allergic). But bleach can cause such a great problem in a septic system that ANY use is quite hazardous to the system. So, for those of you in the country, no bleach!

[gentlearts]

All I know is, I bet it must have smelled like what I imagine the inside of a prison must smell like...I hate the smell of PineSol and of bleach.

[kcam213]

^ I could do without the bleach smell but I am positively addicted to the scent of pine sol.