Tilex - Heed The Warning

[cabinetman]

It's been a while since I used Tilex to clean a shower. LOML bought two cleaners for the job, the other was "Finazzle" (no joke). Well, being the nice guy I am volunteered to do the job. First put on a respirator, and squirted on the Finazzle because the bottle said it smelled good. Well, it didn't do squat. Didn't wash it off, thinking more is better, squirted on the Tilex, (big mistake). I think the two of them got together and decided to create something nuclear.

I mean to tell you that even with a respirator, I was totally overcome by the fumes even with window open and a fan blowing through. This was about noon, and by 5:00PM could hardly breathe, and was coughing my head off. It was so bad LOML wanted to 911 me to the ER. Coughed and hacked all night and next day to the point that I got sore from coughing and thought it was check-out time. It has subsided over the past week, and I'm much better, but still have a cough.

I guess some of us are more susceptable than others, but this beat anything I ever experienced in the shop. Next time it's a brush and Comet. BTW, the tiles are pretty clean.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[Ken Massingale]

That's bad. Sounds like a chlorine and ammonia combination. Better keep an eye on your cough, could have some burning in the pipe work.
ken

[Hellrazor]

Do not mix chemicals. Chlorine and Ammonia are a deadly combo. I go through this at work with our cleaning staff all the time. The cleaning products are ammonia based and they wonder why I get pissed when they soak rags and mops in bleach & water to clean them. In the process of banning chlorine from our 5 buildings.

[crokett]

When I was 16 I worked as a busboy at a restaurant near my house. We got the stove replaced once and the owner asked me to come in to help. Before we put the new stove in, he wanted to clean. I was looking at years of accumulated grease, etc on the wall and thought if Ajax is good and Bleach is good they would be really good together. It worked but I had to keep the bucket about 8' away or I started getting dizzy.

[mschrank]

Like David, I learned at a young age not to mix cleaners. At the time (I may have been 12 or 13), I didn't think of it as mixing chemicals, I just figured I could devise a "super-cleaner" by mixing a few together. I can't remember now what was in the mix...I just remember lots of foaming, smoke, and fumes that could knock you over!

[Wood_workur]

yeah, bleach and ammonia are deadly.. My son's science teacher did that once, but thank goodness she was able to dillute it quickly.

[just4funsies]

Anything with bleach will react with almost any type of cleaner, and will turn your lungs into toast. We shoulda dropped this mixture on Hanoi...

[Pappy]

Next trip to lowe's, pick up some Damp Rid Mildew and Stain Remover. best cleaner I have found, and no obnoxiuos fumes.

[Stytooner]

Tilex and Windex together = short life span.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A795611

[gsmittle]

I've heard the bleach and ammonia combo are called Housewife's Suicide.

Once in my Photo Studio Darkroom Guy days, I had to treat some prints with potassium permaganate (?). Had to make very sure all the fixer (sodium hypoclorite, same as Clorox only stronger) was washed out of the prints first.

Isn't home chemistry fun?

g.