Experiencing chest irritation after cleaning your bathroom? Ammonia might be your culprit.

Experiencing chest irritation after cleaning your bathroom? Ammonia might be your culprit. 

Figure 1. Coughing monkey. 

It’s a typical Saturday night and you’re cleaning your bathroom when suddenly, your nose starts to itch, you feel a burning sensation on your hands and start feeling short of breath.

Have you ever considered learning more about what lives under your sink?

Ammonia (NH₃) is a colorless liquid with a pungent odor that is found in many household cleaning products such as Windex⁴. When exposed to water, it forms ammonium hydroxide, a weak base with corrosive properties⁵.

What is ammonia used for and how is it produced?

Ammonia is one of the most highly produced inorganic chemicals in North America and is used as a fertilizer, household cleaning agent, food preserving agent and refrigerant¹.

It’s industrially produced using the Haber process, in which nitrogen from the air is combined with hydrogen obtained from natural gases, producing liquid ammonia².  The human body also produces ammonia. When protein is metabolized into amino acids, excess metabolites are transported to the liver⁶. The liver oxidizes the amino acids by removing an amine group via deamination processes, forming ammonia molecules⁶.

How might ammonia affect me?

Ammonia causes various health effects depending on the route of exposure. Ocular exposure can cause irritated eyes and may lead to temporary or permanent blindness⁷. Dermal exposure to highly concentrated solutions (25%) may cause serious burns. Cleaning products such as Windex contain 5% of ammonia and may cause skin irritation⁹. Inhaling high concentrations of ammonia cause immediate burning of the nose, throat and respiratory tract, whereas constant exposure to a low concentration may cause coughing and nose and throat irritation⁵. Lastly, ingesting ammonia results in nausea, vomiting, and swelling of the lips, mouth and larynx⁷. Drinking a highly concentrated may cause oral and esophageal burns, gastric perforations and may lead to death⁷.

Is it safe to mix different chemicals in my toilet bowl?

            You may be inclined to use different chemicals to get rid of all of the nasty fecal particles in your toilet bowl. However, it’s important to know to never mix ammonia with chlorine bleach! When ammonia reacts with chlorine, it forms toxic derivatives called chloramines⁸.  Exposure to chloramine fumes may cause coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, and wheezing⁸. When overexposed it cause an individual to lose consciousness³. When exposed, one must get away from the site, and call 911 for help if required³. Lastly, it’s important to ventilate the area before returning³.

References: 

¹Ammonia. https://www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/ammonia/ (accessed Feb. 22, 2018).

²Clark, J. The Haber Process. https://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/equilibria/haber.html (accessed Feb. 22, 2018).

³Helmenstine, A. M. Why You Shouldn't Mix Bleach and Ammonia. https://www.thoughtco.com/bleach-and-ammonia-chemical-reaction-609280 (accessed Feb. 22, 2018).

⁴National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compoound Database;CID=222, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/222 (accessed Feb. 22, 2018).

⁵New York State Department of Health. The facts about ammonia. https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/emergency/chemical_terrorism/ammonia_tech.htm (accessed Feb. 20, 2018).

⁶Royal Society of Chemistry. Excretion and the liver. http://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/cfb/excretion.htm (accessed Feb. 20, 2018).

⁷The University of Kansas Health System. Poison Facts: High Chemicals: Ammonia. http://www.kansashealthsystem.com/~/media/Imported/kumed/documents/kdheammonia.ashx?la=en (accessed Feb. 21, 2018).

⁸Utah Department of Health. Common cleaning products can be dangerous when mixed. http://health.utah.gov/enviroepi/activities/NTSIP/Common%20Cleaning%20Products%20Can%20Be%20Dangerous%20When%20Mixed.pdf (accessed Feb. 20, 2018).

                                             

⁹Windex. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windex (accessed Feb. 21, 2018).

Image: Figure 1

Source: Anderson, A. B. Coughing. https://www.flickr.com/photos/audunbakkeandersen/219489630/in/photolist-koWBY-8Wdfn5-dk9qA9-EhYHPM-bUx8Q7-5ZNmqT-cN5xXQ-aYJWnn-9eVdYn-owbt32-93NJhb-59SrEd-95NVJT-bucVzt-aqLXm7-ksxAz-6jxRDi-dHPbBQ-61z3TF-yb4Gq-5Qff5-71YFEB-HiZK6L-9eYmbC-8XFHb7-Y7n91i-oeWDty-6WHK1M-x7dg-22Eo6rt-5VmG3g-qzwA3v-HEQDkA-589HWR-7x9DqZ-bBiNSx-bq9vRD-6d5JDD-4L9Fhj-dUaC38-e7T6Hz-aAHhPN-99VEeT-a2mZND-47mh19-4X66Go-4djfbF-5PFoAN-YQcUXm-dWJPWe (accessed Feb. 20, 2018).