Every household has some basic works like, cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc., these works include a few things to accomplish certain tasks like, vegetables and spices for cooking, detergent for laundry, disinfectants and cleaners for cleaning the house, etc.. Cleaning should be done on a regular basis in houses as there are germs which can be harmful for kids or even adults and thus needs to be cleaned up properly.
Besides germs there is dust and pollution which accumulates on surfaces like tile floor, wooden work etc. so cleaning up is required. There are some agents for cleaning available in the market which helps in disinfecting or discoloration of several materials in the house.
There are various brands who sell these cleaning agents. These are disinfectants and can be fatal if consumed.
It is always advisable to keep them out of the reach of children. They can be hazardous if consumed as they have chemicals which are toxins for the human body.
There are a variety of chemicals for cleaning, but few components are basic or fundamental in all the cleaning agents. This constitutes ammonia or bleach.
Key Takeaways
- Ammonia is a nitrogen and hydrogen compound commonly used as a household cleaner, in fertilizers, and in industrial applications.
- Bleach is a chemical compound containing sodium hypochlorite, used for disinfecting, removing stains, and as a whitening agent.
- Combining ammonia and bleach produces toxic chloramine gas, making it crucial never to mix these two cleaning agents.
Ammonia vs Bleach
The difference between ammonia and bleach is their composition and the properties of cleaning. Ammonia and bleach are often confused when discussed, but they are entirely different from each other.
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Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Ammonia | Bleach |
|---|---|---|
| Composition | Hydrogen and nitrogen | Sodium hypochlorite, caustic soda, water, etc. |
| Uses | Used as disinfectant and cleaners | Used in detergents as disclination agent |
| Purposes | Cleaning | Removing stains |
| Strength | Less strong | More strong |
| Surfaces used on | Hard surfaces lk, tils, toilets, etc.. | Surfaces like fabrics |
What is Ammonia?
Ammonia is the cleaning agent used in households. It is mainly used in cleaning surfaces like tubs, sinks, toilets, kitchen counter, tiles, etc.. ammonia is present in several other agents as well as their fundamental composition.
Ammonia is part of many commercial cleaning agents, mixed with several other ingredients. But it can be used by just diluting the solution with water as well.
Ammonia is an inexpensive cleaning agent. Ammonia is made up of three atoms of hydrogen and one atom of nitrogen.
It helps to clean the germs properly without even discoloration of the surface, otherwise it is often seen that few cleaning solutions discolour the surface. But ammonia does not lighten the surface color.
Ammonia should never be mixed with bleach as it can be the worst combination ever, it can be fatal and can lead to many severe diseases. That is high ammonia and bleach are never mixed in one cleaning agent, there will be either ammonia or bleach in any commercial cleaning solution.
Ammonia is hazardous to health, consuming any solution that contains ammonia can burn mouth, throat, stomach or can lead to severe abdominal pain. There can be urine or blood tests done to detect ammonia in the human body.
Ammonia is also helpful in cleaning jewellery as well, it helps in clearing out grease also. It doesn’t take away the color of the surface which is ideal for cleaning.
Ammonia is also a gas which is beneficial in farms in the form of urea created by animals. Ammonium hydroxide is actually used for cleaning purposes.
Otherwise ammonia is useful in farms as a fertilizer. It is always present in the environment. It is also used as gas in air conditioners or refrigerators because it can absorb heat.
What is Bleach?
Bleach is an inexpensive cleaner, it is generally used when any unwanted color or stain has to be removed from fabric or any surface. Its main use is discoloration.
And this possession of removing stains is known as bleaching. Bleach consists of a main chemical known as Sodium hypochlorite (NaCIO), and there are secondondry ingredients as well like water, caustic soda, and chlorine.
This is the composition of basic bleach used in households for removal of stains. Bleach works by releasing the oxygen molecules, this process is also known as oxidation.
In oxidation bleach releases oxygen which breaks up the bond of chromophores, which ultimately leads to discoloration of the stain. The common use of bleach is to remove stains from clothes, thus there are a number of brands of commercial cleaners which consist of bleach in them.
Mainly bleach is used in detergents. In any cleaner or detergent there will be either ammonia or bleach.
They are not mixed with each other in any solution. Diluted bleach can be used directly on hard surfaces or clothes.
Bleach is said to be a more powerful disinfectant due to its discoloration property. It has some hazardous features as well.
For human body bleach is not suitable, its consumption can be fatal and its external use can lead to irritation in skin, eyes, burning can be caused, it can cause skin rashes, and internally it can cause migraine, extreme headache, muscle weakness, nausea, vomiting , etc.. Bleach not only helps in removing stains, but it also helps in killing bacteria, the presence of active chemical sodium hypochlorite viruses including influenza , fungi and many other germs are killed.the active chemical can turn inactive with us of organic material.
Presence of bleach in any cleaner indicates that the cleaner will help to remove stains from the surface. It is a strong disinfectant as well.
Main Differences Between Ammonia and Bleach
- Ammonia is used for cleaning the surfaces whereas bleach is mainly used for discoloration of the surface.
- Ammonia basically helps in removing grease, on the contrary bleach helps in removing stains.
- Composition of ammonia contains hydrogen and nitrogen, but bleach contains sodium hypochlorite, chlorine, water, etc..
- Bleach is said to be a stronger disinfectant than ammonia.
- Ammonia is used mainly on hard surfaces like tiles, toilets, etc., whereas bleach is used mainly on fabrics.
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012369216617026
- https://academic.oup.com/cid/article-abstract/63/8/999/2389110
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
