# Mustard gas = Bleach + Ammonia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565 "2010-02-03T19:10:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![myrnajean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@myrnajean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myrnajean)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/21 "2010-02-04T18:15:32Z")
Mixed bleach and ammonia in the toliet once when I was a kid. I had house cleaning duties since I was, like eight years old, and didnt’ know any better. I think the ammonia was in the mop water, and the bleach was already in the toilet to soak/clean it. Dumped mop water in toilet and got the burning eyes/can’t breath/ and a sore throat for about week. Guess I was lucky I ran out of the bathroom when I did. I vagely remember putting something over my nose to go back and flush it away. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/22 "2010-02-05T02:22:28Z")
When I was in college moving into my first apartment, my roommate and I decided to battle a nasty stain by dumping every cleaning compound into the toilet, then leaving the apartment and letting everything soak for awhile. When we returned we were nearly knocked over by the smell as soon as we opened the door. By the time we ran in, flushed the toilet and ran back out we were both coughing our lungs out. Kids, don’t try this at home. ---
**Author:** ![Visual\_Purple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@Visual\_Purple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Visual_Purple)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/23 "2010-02-05T02:31:33Z")
Other ways to get chlorine gas: I had some black pants that got a few bleach spots on them. I thought I’d bleach them entirely. I made the bleach too strong. The first thing I noticed was that the water was warming up. Shortly thereafter, I noticed that the bottom of the laundry sink was filling with greenish gas. I left quickly. Apparently, my saving grace was that chlorine gas is a bit heavier than air. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/24 "2010-02-05T02:48:37Z")
I think there was something else in that sink. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/25 "2010-02-05T07:49:31Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > I think there was something else in that sink. Or in those pants. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/26 "2010-02-05T17:22:05Z")
IIRC, the chemicals commonly used in maintaining a swimming pool are chlorine and muriatic acid. It was always emphasized that I should not add both of them to the pool simultaneously, and certainly should never pre-mix them. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/27 "2010-02-05T21:52:05Z")
BTW nitrogen mustards are now used as chemotherapeutic agents. In case you’re looking for a little factoid to liven up the party. Thalidomide, too! ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/28 "2010-02-06T04:16:42Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > IIRC, the chemicals commonly used in maintaining a swimming pool are chlorine and muriatic acid. It was always emphasized that I should not add both of them to the pool simultaneously, and certainly should never pre-mix them. If you didn’t know, muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid. There is hardly a more direct way to make chlorine gas. HCl + NaOCl –\> NaOH + Cl2 ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/29 "2010-02-06T21:42:13Z")
I just realized something: is this bleach and ammonia thing something you’re just supposed to know as you get old?? Because if not for that King of the Hill episode, I would have no idea! How do they expect people to know not to combine two common cleaning ingredients? Are there tiny instructions that says “Do not combine this with bleach/ammonia” for any reason!"? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/30 "2010-02-06T21:52:17Z")
If you read the instructions on the bottle it says quite explicitly not to mix with any other cleaning products. Of course, if they specifically said ammonia, some bonehead would thing that cleaning products containing ammonia were fine. The reality is, you shouldn’t be mixing chemicals like this in your home at all. There is no reason to anyway. Don’t you think that if there was a way to make their product more effective, they would? ---
**Author:** ![foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9a140/32.png) [@foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolscap)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/31 "2010-02-08T00:58:22Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > If I remember correctly they made mustard gas. The author didn’t go into a lot of detail about how though. (A good decision in my opinion.) > I don’t recall anything about fertilizer. There are places where you can learn how to make mustard gas > **[Scientific and technical books of yesteryear](http://www.sciencemadness.org/library/index.html)** . As for the fertilizer, I think they were refering to the dead bodies left after using it.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![cdsilv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cdsilv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdsilv)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/32 "2010-02-08T15:12:21Z")
Try pitching a swimming pool chlorine tablet into a bowl of brake fluid. Makes a pretty green flame as the chlorine ‘oxidizes’ the brake fluid…also produces chlorine gas… ---
**Author:** ![Kreigerwaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kreigerwaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kreigerwaves)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/33 "2012-06-26T20:34:41Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I saw this on King of the Hill. Peggy was writing some general housekeeping tips article and wrote that bleach and ammonia make a great stain remover. Hank, after being told this by her, said it was the formula for mustard gas. > > Is this true? > > And if it doesn’t produce weapons grade mustard gas, then would it still be a considered a dangerous weapon? Like if I collected some in a balloon, then popped it in the air vent of a building, would people get sick or die? Ammonia and Bleach is Mustard gas. use a gas mask wile doing any thing with your experiment. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/34 "2012-06-26T20:36:15Z")
Did you read any of the fucking thread? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/35 "2012-06-26T20:44:02Z")
It’s like Wikianswers. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/36 "2012-06-26T20:52:23Z")
zombie or no mustard gas and chlorine gas are not the same thing. they both were used as chemical weapons in WW1. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/37 "2012-06-26T20:52:26Z")
I know this is old, but everybody who says that chlorine is produced (maybe in small amounts, but not the main hazard) when you mix bleach and ammonia is wrong; the actual chemical produced is [chloramine](http://chemistry.about.com/b/2010/08/20/why-you-shouldnt-mix-bleach-and-ammonia-bleach-and-ammonia-chemical-reactions.htm): > [@](#): > > Mixing bleach with ammonia is a bad plan because it releases toxic vapors, but not so much the chlorine gas that seems to be discussed all over the internet. The production of significant amounts of chlorine is unlikely. Now, the bleach does react (with just about anything) to form chlorine gas and acid (mainly hydrochloric acid), but the chlorine gas doesn’t stick around. The mixture of bleach and ammonia primarily produces chloramine, with a possibility of some hydrazine. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/38 "2012-06-26T20:53:40Z")
Aaagh ammonia bleach Zombie! blech… glad I read this tho. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/39 "2012-06-26T20:53:53Z")
The lady that lived two doors down when I was growing up had a horrible cough. Sounded like she was hacking up bits of lung. You could hear her inside in the winter when you walked past the house, and over the whole neighborhood when she was working in the yard. She had been helping her daughter-in-law with some cleaning, and they managed to mix bleach and ammonia in the toilet. The DIL died, MIL’s lungs were scarred for life. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565/40 "2012-06-26T20:59:55Z")
Mustard gas zombies! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas-bleach-ammonia/527565.md?page=3)