Five cleaning product combinations you should never mix together

There are a lot of fantastic cleaning hack videos on social media, but there are also some potentially dangerous ones that you probably shouldn't try.

The hacks that are best avoided usually involve mixing cleaning products together, and to help us stay safe Stephanie Booth, a realtor and TikToker, has given us a handy list of five combinations to avoid.

"Number one: Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. Mixing the two together creates peracetic acid, which is a corrosive acid," she said in a TikTok video.

Watch the video above.

Instead use these separately, or spray one on a surface and wipe off before using the other the same way, but never put in a closed container.

Next up, Booth said not to mix bleach and ammonia because "mixing the two together creates chloramine". Chloramine can also irritate the airways, eyes and throat.

She also warned her followers that a cleaning product they may be using might contain bleach or ammonia, so you should have a good look at the information on the bottle before using.

"Actually a lot of store bought house cleaners contain one of these two as their active ingredient, and this is why you should never play mad scientist in your mop bucket," she said.

READ MORE: The weird and wonderful Amazon buys going viral thanks to TikTok

The third combination of cleaning products we should avoid is bleach and rubbing alcohol.

"Combining these two together creates chloroform. Watch any old gangster movie and you'll see chloroform was one of the things they used to take out their enemies," she said.

The fourth combo Booth warned about might be more relevant to those in the US, but is worth keeping in mind regardless of what dishwashing detergent you use.

"You shouldn't combine Dawn dish detergent with bleach. As a matter of fact it's the de-natured alcohol content of Dawn that shouldn't be combined with bleach," she said.

Bleach and vinegar is another combination we shouldn't try because it releases chlorine and chloramine gas.

This is something another TikToker learnt the hard way when she tried to clean the kitchen while staying at her grandparents' place over Christmas.

"I accidentally cleaned the kitchen with bleach and vinegar and now we're all stuck in the same room on the phone to poison control," the caption on her TikTok about the incident read.

READ MORE: CHOICE reveals the best and worst multipurpose cleaning sprays for 2023

The final combination Booth warned us not to mix is Fabuloso and bleach.

"I cannot tell you how many times I've seen these two products combined together in cleaning hack videos. As a matter of fact this has been done so often that Fabuloso has put a disclaimer in the FAQ section about not doing this," Booth said.

Those who viewed the TikTok were grateful for the information, as some didn't even know they couldn't combine these products. 

"OMG bleach and vinegar. Lord you saving lives here girl!" one commented.

"Whyyyyy? Everyone thinks they're a chemist now," a viewer wrote.

"Thank you! It's so easy to put two products without even thinking about it," posted another.

In response Booth said, "With all the social media cleaning recipes, it's easy to get desensitised that mixing anything together could lead to a big health problem."

And if ever you're in doubt about what not to mix together, one person who saw the video had a helpful suggestion.

"Just don't mix bleach with anything," they said.

If you do happen to accidentally mix anything it's best to call your state's poisons centre for advice.

St John. Ambulance Service Australia also has information on what first aid to do in this instance on its website.