Never mix Sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) with Isopropyl alcohol
Toxic gas
Chloroform and related chlorinated compounds are formed. The reported effects of exposure are dizziness, nausea, headaches and loss of consciousness. Losing consciousness in the presence of the reaction that caused it is what makes this more dangerous than the symptom list suggests, because the exposure continues while the person is unable to leave. Anyone affected should be moved into fresh air immediately and medical advice sought.
Precautions
- Never mix with other cleaning products
- Ventilate the area
- Rinse thoroughly afterwards
- Keep away from children and pets
- Consider professional help
How this happens
Hypochlorite reacts with alcohols to produce chlorinated organic compounds, chloroform among them. No heating and no unusual conditions are required. The domestic route to this is not somebody decanting solvents together: isopropyl alcohol is the active ingredient of many surface sanitisers, screen and electronics wipes and hand rubs, and bleach is what a great many people reach for on the same surfaces. It is therefore a sequential-use hazard in the same way the acid reaction is, and the same rule answers it — use one product, rinse, then use the other if you still need to.
If it has already happened
Get everyone into fresh air straight away, and do not go back inside to open windows. Anyone with breathing difficulty, chest pain, persistent coughing, or a chemical splash to the eyes needs medical attention — treat it as an emergency and call your local emergency number. In the United Kingdom, use NHS 111 or 999 as appropriate; clinicians can consult the National Poisons Information Service.
The substances involved
- Sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) — A powerful oxidising bleach and disinfectant. It is also the substance behind the most common serious household chemical accidents, and must never be mixed with anything.
- Isopropyl alcohol — A solvent that dissolves oils and residues and evaporates without a trace. Useful on electronics and glass; flammable, and damaging to some plastics and finishes.
Evidence
Supported
Sources
Hazard Alert — Worker Health and Safety: Mixing Bleach with Other Cleaning Products Can Be Deadly
New Jersey Department of Health, Environmental and Occupational Health Surveillance Program · Government or regulator
Relied on for: That bleach combined with rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) forms chloroform, and that the effects include dizziness, nausea, headaches and loss of consciousness. (states this directly)