Malvern Cleaners: NEVER mix bleach with vinegar.

I was in the Nag's Head in Malvern a few nights ago and the conversation turned to cleaning and various old wives tales of natural products and how to use them. We covered the usual ones: lemon and vinegar and I even explained how my husband tried to make a video of coke removing rust from a garden tool (it didn't work as the Malvern weather ruined the experiment halfway through - rain stopped play!). Some bright spark then suggested mixing these natural products with commercial ones to create a new range of products.

Though said in jest, a brighter spark pointed out that mixing bleach and vinegar is actually very hazardous. It can create chlorine gas which (according to Wikipedia!) can be fatal at about 1000 parts per million after a few deep breaths (and it would also be extraordinarily painful). In 2014, every school child has been educated about the First World War and the poison gas attacks endured by men in the trenches. It is a very sobering thought that such dangerous technology exists in all our homes and that simple lack of knowlegde could lead to a truly horrific accident.