Everyone desires a clean and healthy living space. Having a home that is free of dirt and germs gives us peace of mind and the ability to enjoy our surroundings with the people we love most.

While we know wood and water (and water and vinegar for floors) don’t mix. Read more about that here. There are also many other household cleaner combinations to avoid when spiffing up your space.

Dangerous bleach combinations
Bleach is a great disinfectant and has many positive cleaning applications. However, bleach should be used by itself to avoid toxic chemical reactions.

• Bleach + ammonia
  Creates chloramine gas that can cause shortness of breath, chest pain, burning pain and irritation
• Bleach + rubbing alcohol
  Creates chloroform that can cause dizziness, vomiting and damage to skin, eyes, respiratory system and nervous system
• Bleach + vinegar (bleach + acid)
  Creates chlorine gas that can cause burning pain and irritation
  While it can be difficult to remember which cleaning products use acids or bases or anything that can have a negative reaction with bleach, here’s a quick list of things that you should avoid mixing with bleach. Even better: don’t mix any other cleaning products with bleach.

Bleach + mildew stain remover
Bleach + toilet bowl cleaner
Bleach + disinfectant sprays
Bleach + oven cleaner
Bleach + dish detergent
Bleach + lemon juice
Bleach + glass cleaner
Bleach + drain cleaner

Other combinations to avoid
While bleach is the main ingredient to many dangerous household combinations, here are some other mixtures to avoid.

• Hydrogen peroxide + vinegar
  Creates peracetic acid, a toxic chemical that can cause irritation to the skin, eyes, nose and lungs
• Different drain cleaners
  Drain cleaners use powerful chemical formulas that could create toxic or even explosive reactions.
• Different brands of cleaning solutions
  Each manufacturer uses their own special formulas and can have dangerous results when mixed.
• Batteries + batteries (!)
  Battery brands use different chemicals, and can operate at different voltages even if they're the same size. Avoid mixing different brands of batteries to protect your electronics, and avoid corrosion and leakage.
• Baking soda + vinegar
  Used separately, baking soda and vinegar can have helpful cleaning properties, but this combination is best used in volcano science projects. This combination weakens each other, basically giving you water.

While we all want to have the best cleaning solutions for our homes, fight the urge to create a DIY 'super solution'. Leave the chemical mixtures to the professionals, and instead rely on Bona's safe and effective solutions for the surfaces in your home, tested for over 100 years.