Bleach… Don’t be dumb with it.
By: Neil Marion
Most People generally don’t give bleach a second though. We all know that it can be dangerous if you pour it on your hand or do the unthinkable and drink the stuff. It is one of those chemicals that can effectively break down the cellular wall destroying much of the bacteria it comes into contact with. It can an extremely effective tool for cleaning the house (4) or in larger places such as restaurants, or processing facilities. It is a relatively easy product to produce, requiring the separation of sodium from chlorine in salt. It can easily be done with the electrolysis of salt water (1). Bleach degrades rather quickly when exposed to air. Anyone who has left the bleach open after doing laundry will attest to this.

𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐶𝑙+ 𝐻2𝑂→𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻+𝐻𝑂𝐶𝑙 

2𝐻𝑂𝐶𝑙→2𝐻𝐶𝑙+ 𝑂2 

𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐶𝑙+2𝐻𝐶𝑙→𝐶𝑙2+𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙+𝐻2𝑂

Bleach generally degrades into harmless components (appart from the Chlorine gas, but that dissipates quickly into the surrounding atmosphere. I wouldn’t recommend sniffing it) (3).
The issues that arise from bleach use come from people mixing it with ammonia. There are a lot of chlorine based cleaners and multiple ammonia based products. Ammonia is often found in window cleaners, oven cleaners, liquid drain cleaners and many other products. Often people get the idea that mixing two separate caustic substances will somehow create a super product that will do the job more efficiently. Let’s face it, we have all mixed certain products together to make a super product (hot chocolate and coffee, candy, beer and clamato, etc.) and it somehow seems like a no brainer that adding some bleach to the oven cleaner will create a mega-grease buster accelerating the job of cleaning the oven. But if you actually do this you will end up with no brain. Chloramine gas is formed by the mixing of bleach and ammonia. It is one of the more toxic things that can be made in the house (2). If you plan on experimenting with bleach and ammonia, please don’t.

𝐶𝑙2+2𝑁𝐻3→ 2𝑁𝐻2𝐶𝑙

As you can see, it really isn’t the bleach that causes chloramine gas, but the chlorine gas that develops from the natural degradation of bleach mixing with ammonia (3), and since the places that people would consider mixing the two products together are in the household and since the household is a closed space, bad things will happen.
Bleach isn’t dangerous, however you should use it with caution (7)(8). Although some research has suggested that it doesn’t form respiratory problems with home use (6)(9), it has been known to exasperate respiratory problems with people that already suffer from them. Although I do call into question studies based on surveys, since there are a lot of outlying factors associated with a survey that are often not taken into account or not thought of at the time of printing, but since surveys are often the most ethical way of obtaining data they have to be examined. So clean your counter tops with it to destroy the salmonella that remains from the chicken dinner, just rinse the surface off with water and you should be safe using the product as a cleaner in the house.




References.
1. Brennan C. How Products are Made: Bleech. Advameg, Inc. http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Bleach.html (accessed February 25, 2016)
2. Chloramine Gas; MSDS No. 01779-250; Fisher Scientific; Fairlawn, NJ, May 19, 2014.
3. Helmenstine, A.M. Why You Shouldn’t Mix Bleach and Ammonia. http://chemistry.about.com/od/toxicchemicals/a/Mixing-Bleach-And-Ammonia.htm (accessed February 25, 2016)
4. HubPages. 22 Great Uses for Household Bleach. http://hubpages.com/living/22-Great-Uses-for-Household-Bleach (accessed March 1, 2016)
5. Killino, J. Child Chemical Injury Lawyer. http://www.childinjuryfirm.com/childinjuries/child-chemical-injury-lawyer
6. Nickmilder, M., Carbonnelle, S., & Bernard, A. (2007). House cleaning with chlorine bleach and the risks of allergic and respiratory diseases in children. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, 18(1), 27-35. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3038.2006.00487.x
7. O’Neil, M. J. The Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals (14Ed.): Sodium Hypochlorite. Merck Research Laboratories: Whitehouse Station, NJ, 2006.
8. Sodium Hyoichlorite; MSDS No. SLS1654; Sciencelab.com: Houston, Tx, October 9, 2015.
9. Zock, J., Plana, E., Antó, J.,M., Benke, G., Blanc, P. D., Carosso, A., . . . Kogevinas, M. (2009). Domestic use of hypochlorite bleach, atopic sensitization, and respiratory symptoms in adults. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 124(4), 731-738. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2009.06.007