warning about mixing vinegar and hydrogen peroxide

BlunderWoman

Senior Member
I didn't know which section to post this in.

Many times you may run across recipes for home made laundry soap or cleaners. Some of them will have a recipe that suggests mixing white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide with other ingredients. Don't do that.

Mixing them together creates Peracetic acid. Peracetic acid can be highly corrosive, and it is a "primary" irritant. It can permanently damage the lungs, and cause occupational asthma. It can also have other chemical properties depending on the concentration that make it quite dangerous in other ways as well.
 

I only mix vermouth with gin, but that can have explosive effects, if you know what I mean...
 

That reminds me of something that happened back in my teens. My parents owned a local hardware store and got sued over a chemical reaction. Turns out someone that had a clogged drain bought drain cleaner from the store and added it to a clogged drain where they had used another brand that did not clear the drain. It caused an immediate violent reaction that caused very bad acid burns on their face. I don't remember how it was settled legally, just that my parents were very worried. They had insurance and that must have taken care of it since they didn't lose their business. I don't know all the particulars about what, if anything was said by the sales clerk and the purchaser, just always remembered it.
 
Peracetic acid is also a very effective sanitizer/disinfectant widely used in the food industry.

I use hydrogen peroxide around the house as a sanitizer. For example, when the spout on my milk carton won't open properly, I will use a clean glass bottle, swish around about 5ml of hydrogen peroxide, then drain. Fill the glass bottle with milk and it will last a very long time. Any residual hydrogen peroxide will react with the milk to form water.
 
different type batteries have different discharge rates. LI ion batteries and Mercury as an example. Rechargeable are the scariest. so putting a fast discharge rate behind a slow, causes a heat build up in the slow.
 


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