cleaning-mix-guardian

Use before mixing ANY household cleaning products — checks combinations for dangerous reactions (bleach+ammonia→chloramine gas, bleach+acid→chlorine gas, hydrogen peroxide+vinegar→peracetic acid, two different drain cleaners→heat/pressure), explains symptoms and first aid for each gas, gives safe alternates and safe sequences (wait times between products), and a poison-center quick card by region.

Overview

Mixing common household cleaners sends thousands of people to emergency rooms every year. The chemistry is well known — bleach + ammonia releases chloramine gas, bleach + acid releases chlorine gas — but the products don't say "contains ammonia" on the front, and people mix them while cleaning toilets, showers, and drains without knowing.

This skill is a pre-mix safety checker:

1. Reaction lookup — a curated database of product-ingredient combinations and what they produce (gas, heat, pressure), with severity, symptoms, and first aid.
2. Product decoding — maps common product names/types ("toilet bowl cleaner", "glass cleaner", "dishwasher tabs", "rust remover") to their reactive ingredient class.
3. Safe sequencing — when two products must be used in the same space, the required rinse/wait interval and ventilation.
4. Incident card — if a mix already happened: what gas it probably was, symptoms to expect, first aid, and when to call poison control.

This is first-aid-level information, not a substitute for poison control or emergency services. When in doubt: call. US 1-800-222-1222, UK 111, EU 112.

When to Use

• "Can I mix X and Y?" for ANY two cleaners — always check first
• Deep-cleaning a bathroom: sequencing toilet cleaner, bleach, limescale remover safely
• Drain unblocking: choosing ONE drain cleaner, never a second different one after the first
• Someone already mixed something / smells sharp/gassy: incident mode
• Building a shopping list: which products can coexist in one cupboard

Don't use for: industrial chemicals, pool chemistry dosing (different concentrations — see pool-chemistry skills), pesticide mixing. Never use it to design a mix — it exists to prevent them.

Quick Start

bash

# Can I mix bleach and ammonia-based glass cleaner?
python3 scripts/mix_guard.py check --a bleach --b "glass cleaner"

# Check by ingredient class
python3 scripts/mix_guard.py check --a bleach --b acid

# What's actually in common products (reactive classes)
python3 scripts/mix_guard.py products

# Safe order to use several products in one bathroom
python3 scripts/mix_guard.py sequence --items "toilet cleaner,bleach,limescale remover"

# Something already happened
python3 scripts/mix_guard.py incident --a bleach --b "drain cleaner"

The Chemistry That Hurts People

Mix	Releases	Severity
Bleach (NaOCl) + ammonia	Chloramine gas (NH₂Cl)	CRITICAL
Bleach + acid (HCl, vinegar, citric)	Chlorine gas (Cl₂)	CRITICAL
Hydrogen peroxide + vinegar	Peracetic acid	HIGH
Bleach + hydrogen peroxide	Oxygen gas + heat	HIGH (pressure in closed containers)
Bleach + alcohol (isopropyl)	Chloroform-like compounds (in practice, chlorinated ethers/aldehydes)	HIGH
Two different drain cleaners (acid + caustic)	Heat, boiling spray, pressure	CRITICAL
Caustic (NaOH) + acid (HCl)	Violent heat, spattering	HIGH
Bleach + "rust remover" (oxalic/hydrofluoric types)	Chlorine gas + HF risk	CRITICAL

Symptoms progress: throat irritation → coughing → chest tightness → difficulty breathing. Chlorine is heavier than air and pools low — pets and children are affected first.

Why "I'll just rinse it down" fails

Chlorine/chloramine release starts the moment the products contact — in the toilet bowl, on the scrub brush, in the sponge. By the time you smell it (pool smell = chloramines; sharp green smell = chlorine), the exposure has happened. Prevention is the only reliable control.

Common Pitfalls

1. "Bleach + dish soap is fine." Usually true for plain detergent — but many dish soaps and almost all glass cleaners contain ammonia derivatives. Check the label for "ammonia", "quats" plus acid, or amines.
2. Toilet-bowl cleaner then bleach. Bowl cleaners are usually ~9 % HCl. Bleach after an acid bowl cleaner without a FULL rinse + flush = chlorine gas in your face. This is the single most common injury path.
3. "The drain is still clogged, I'll add a different cleaner." NEVER add a different chemistry to a drain that still contains the first — acid-after-caustic boils out of the drain. Mechanical clearing (plunger, drain snake) has no chemistry.
4. Mixing in a closed spray bottle "to make it stronger." Closed containers turn gas release into pressure explosions. Also: never put bleach into anything that had another product in it.
5. Vinegar as a "safe natural" cleaner. Vinegar is a real acid: it etches stone, corrodes grout and rubber seals, and it reacts with bleach and hydrogen peroxide. Natural ≠ inert.

Verification Checklist

• check prints CRITICAL/HIGH verdict with gas name, symptoms, first aid
• products lists the reactive class of every catalog entry
• sequence outputs an order with wait/rinse steps between risky pairs
• incident mode prints the poison-control card and evacuation advice
• unknown product names produce a "treat as incompatible" warning

Examples

text

$ python3 scripts/mix_guard.py check --a bleach --b "glass cleaner"
✗ DO NOT MIX — CRITICAL
  Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) + ammonia-based glass cleaner
  → CHLORAMINE GAS (NH2Cl)
  Symptoms: throat/eye irritation, coughing, chest pain, breathing
  difficulty. Low-lying gas — affects pets and children first.
  First aid: leave the room NOW, ventilate from outside if possible,
  fresh air 30+ min, seek medical care if breathing is affected.
  Poison control (US): 1-800-222-1222

Data compiled from poison-control guidance (US AAPCC, UK NHS) and standard inorganic chemistry of hypochlorite reactions. When exposure has already happened: fresh air first, poison control second, 112/911 if breathing is impaired.