We had a flood in our basement, and to get rid of some of the bacteria that could be starting, I used straight bleach. The smell of bleach was quite strong throughout my home. Is this dangerous?
2007-11-02 17:42:50 · 0 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Respiratory Diseases
The real danger is from breathing free chlorine gas, not from bleach fumes. This can easily happen if you also use ammonia along with the bleach. The chemical reaction between the two will release chlorine gas (or worse) and I suppose you would already be dead.
Having experienced more than my fair share of floods, I understand your need to use bleach. The second reference below discusses the safe use of bleach after natural disasters. There's a lot worse things than the smell of bleach, and hopefully all that bleach you used killed all of them.
2007-11-03 10:10:37 · answer #1 · answered by a p 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
RE:
Is Breathing Bleach Fumes Dangerous?
We had a flood in our basement, and to get rid of some of the bacteria that could be starting, I used straight bleach. The smell of bleach was quite strong throughout my home. Is this dangerous?
2015-08-02 04:22:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, chlorine bleach irritates lung tissue and is not good for your health. I trust that you opened the basement windows and the upper windows (heat rises) to completely air the area out. The basement windows may need to be opened daily until the fumes cannot be detected.
2007-11-02 20:28:55 · answer #3 · answered by Autumn 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I can't imagine it could be GOOD for you... I don't like the smell of Bleach, personally... -it irritates my sinuses... :(
2007-11-02 17:52:27 · answer #4 · answered by Joseph, II 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋