Domestic Chemistry 101

[Silverlily]

Everyone knows you should never mix ammonia and bleach (yet we've all done it nonetheless), but did you know you shouldn't mix different brands of laundry detergent? I didn't until this morning.

The last time I went grocery shopping the store was out of my usual brand of detergent, so I purchased another. No big deal, right? This morning, I put a load of towels in and discovered there was only a half cap of the old brand, so I added a half cap of the new brand without a thought. No big deal, right? Wrong! When the wash cycle finished, I opened the washer and was nearly knocked over by a horrible stench, not unlike when my husband does a load of clothes and I find them two days later because he doesn't know where the dryer is.

As a test (and to make sure a dead critter hadn't gotten into my washer), I mixed a few drops of each. Yep, I had found the culprit. Apparently the makers of the detergents are determined to ensure brand loyalty. It took two more washing to get the stink out of the towels.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else?

 

[Juliangel]

eeeeewwwwwwwww! no never happened to me but thanks for the warning.

 

[Nobody Special's wife]

I only use one brand and that is all if I can't find that brand in the store I usually go some where else..

THE WIFE

 

[Guest]

 

[Ambrosious]

Ben-gay and K-Y. Now that's a trip down the highway.

 

[Bobtoad777]

what brands didnt mix, i havent found the different kinds i used, but i would like to be on the safe side, so please advertise the two kinds so i know not to mix them please.

 

[Silverlily]

Bobert, ALL and Tide.

Neither were the "with bleach alternative" kind, just plain ole detergent. I suspect Tide was at fault, but I'm not positive.

 

[Cyan BloodsBane]

Everyone knows you should never mix ammonia and bleach (yet we've all done it nonetheless),

O but why... it can make a really kool home made bomb....


Love yeah..

Cyan

 

[Merelan]

Kitten, were you in my kitchen this morning? I was trying to get some spilled pumpkiin pie off the bottom of my oven, without oven cleaner. I was using hot water with dish soap and decided to add vinegar, hey it works for other things. No, didn't do anything bad but I was asking my bird what he thought of the smell it created. Peeeuuuuuu.....
He moved to the far side of the place and hid his head under his wing. Took an hour of the oven on and fans blowing to clear the air.
But it did get most of the gunk off. Yuck.

I mean Kitten, I don't mind you visiting, but you could have stayed and had tea or something before you left. Or did the stink scare you away?

 

[Silverlily]

Poor birdie, he's ok?

Thank you for the tea, m'dear, but my youngest is sick and I had to hurry home.

Cyan, put the ammonia down right now! Good dragon.

 

[Cyan BloodsBane]

Waaaaaaaaaaa..... but but... ok about... oven off... and a microwave... and 1 cup of vineager

 

[Thumper]

Actually...

I do believe there is a lady from N.KY fighting for her life in a local hospital here from just such an instant. I don't know the chemicals involved but one of them was detergent. Apparently the detergent leaked and mixed with something else in the car...just as she pulled into her driveway the chemicals caught fire and almost incinerated her. I think she is going to survive the last I heard but the docs weren't so sure when it happened....

Dangerous stuff...

I used to work for a hazardous waste disposal facility...a company brought in a dump trailer with supposedly just organic waste in it. Driver took off the tarp as per SOP...started to rain...and voila' fire! Turns out there was a big chunk of Sodium metal in with the other waste..

Very interesting

From now on...I use full protective gear when I do laundry...especially underwear..

 

[CW]

Re: Actually...

I do believe there is a lady from N.KY fighting for her life in a local hospital here from just such an instant. I don't know the chemicals involved but one of them was detergent. Apparently the detergent leaked and mixed with something else in the car...just as she pulled into her driveway the chemicals caught fire and almost incinerated her. I think she is going to survive the last I heard but the docs weren't so sure when it happened....

The "something else" could quite possibly be kitty litter,,,


Part of firefighter training is a class on what happens with kitty litter when mixed wth household chemicals and compounds,,, nasty stuff,,,

 

[Guest]

The problem with ammonia...

 

[Merelan]

I am now afraid to do any housework... good excuse? Think it will work?

Kitten has children and looks that yummy. Not fair!!

 

[Skitten]

Never had that problem with detergents before, but thanks for the head up. I'd agree with you that it is probally Tide that did it. We live and learn though huh.

 

[RonG]

Solubility is a possible culprit in your detergent skirmish. Yer basic soaps are an amalgamation of surfactants (surface active cleaners) and emulsifiers (things that help the various chemicals stay in solution and mixed). Most emulsifiers smell bad as they are of the oil/fat type chemicals. Mixing the two different types of detergent could have created a situation where some of the emulsifier was unable to stay in solution and landed on a nice absorbent towel. I would suspect when you combined the soaps off line, so to speak, it did the same thing (ie, the activity of one of the soaps drives the chemicals from the other out of solution).

The sad part is this stuff probably smells this bad all the time. You just don't notice it if it stays mixed or if the olfactory killers (think Glade-type stuff)get to your snout first. I wouldn't give credit to the chemical geeks for planning your disaster as a hurdle for brand switching, it is more likely dumb luck. It would be easier to print good coupons than to try and gag your customers (although McChickenheads seems to be an exception).

 

[Silverlily]

Thank you, RonG, my husband was convinced I had lost my marbles. (Maybe, but not over this.)

 

[naudiz]

Today's useless tidbit...

I don't have any (recent) household chemical disasters of note, but here's a little harmless kitchen chemistry I learned: If you submerge an egg in vinegar and leave it for about three days, it'll dissolve the outer shell, leaving the inner membrane intact.