[Candy cane]

So, today, I was cleaning the toilet. I sprayed Dettol disinfectant on the seat (so some spray would've ended up in the toilet bowl) and then i poured bleach into the bowl. I didn't think much of it until later. I wonder if a dangerous gas was released into the air (chlorine, I assume?). I also wonder if either of the 2 cleaners became inactive as a result of being mixed together.


Ingredients:
Tesco Lemon Bleach contains amongst other ingredients. Non-ionic Surfactant, Anionic Surfactant Less than 5% Also contains: Disinfectant: Sodium Hypochlorite 4.5g per 100g, Perfume

Dettol disinfectant: per 100g contains 57.81g ethanol, 0.09g alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammounium saccharinate, perfume, limonene.

Can anyone answer my queries please?

Thanks

[AWK]

Sodium hypochlorite always evolves some chlorine since carbonic acid is stronger than HOCl.

[Borek]

The only dangerous gas that can evolve here in substantial quantities is chlorine. If you have not smelled it (or more precisely, if it wasn't more choking that the bleach always is) nothing wrong has happened.

A bit harder to answer the latter question. Apparently it is an almost 60% ethanol, so the spray was probably still effective (albeit probably a bit weaker) even if other ingredients reacted with chlorine.

[Candy cane]

Sodium hypochlorite always evolves some chlorine since carbonic acid is stronger than HOCl.

Thanks. So, chlorine would've been released even if the 2 cleaners hadn't have mixed together?

[Candy cane]

The only dangerous gas that can evolve here in substantial quantities is chlorine. If you have not smelled it (or more precisely, if it wasn't more choking that the bleach always is) nothing wrong has happened.

A bit harder to answer the latter question. Apparently it is an almost 60% ethanol, so the spray was probably still effective (albeit probably a bit weaker) even if other ingredients reacted with chlorine.

Thanks for replying. I didn't smell anything, to be honest, and I didn't choke either, so perhaps nothing wrong happened. I had the bathroom window open for a couple of hours just in case.

Oh, yes, true about the ethanol. I wonder if the bleach would've been weakened. I always think of bleach as being the thing that is stronger than any other cleaner - as in it could never be made weaker by another cleaner. Not sure exactly where I got that idea from.

[Borek]

So, chlorine would've been released even if the 2 cleaners hadn't have mixed together?

It always is.

[Candy cane]

Apparently, the bleach would be just as effective even if it did come into contact with the dettol disinfectant spray. I've also been told that poisonous gases wouldn't be released into the air. I guess that would explain why I didn't smell anything.

[AWK]

Limonene (2 double bonds) can react with chlorine.

[Candy cane]

Limonene (2 double bonds) can react with chlorine.

I see. So, what actually happens? What is released?

The lady at Tesco assured me that the disinfectant wouldn't affect the effectiveness of the bleach.

[AWK]

This may be a simple chlorine addition (or hypochlorous acid) to double bonds of limonene.

[Corribus]

In any case, adding another disinfectant is completely redundant, since bleach kills just about everything.  Typically it's good practice not to mix bleach with any other cleaners.