Mixing certain cleaning products together at home can prove to be more dangerous than you might have expected.
If you like to keep a neat and clean household, then you probably have an abundance of different cleaning products stashed under your kitchen sink.
From limescale remover to bleach there are a range of sprays and creams you can buy to make your home sparkle.
And while they all have their merits individually, it turns out combining them together can be an incredibly dangerous move.
This is the lesson one mum learned this week as she mixed together toilet unblocker and bleach in attempt to clean her clogged loo.
One mum got in a spot of bother while cleaning her toilet (Image: Getty Images)
Dominique Heath's concoction created a poisonous chlorine gas cloud - something which was once used as a chemical weapon in wars.
When her eyes and throat began to feel as though they were burning, she rang the fire brigade, who quickly evacuated her home and part of her street.
But these aren't the only combinations of chemicals you should be worried about.
Adding bleach to anything other than water is a very bad idea - one look at the back of the bottle will tell you that it shouldn't be mixed "with other products".
So what happens if you do accidentally mix bleach with something?
Combining bleach with a cleaning item such as furniture polish, window cleaner, oven cleaner or anything else containing ammonia can produce a chloramine vapour which causes symptoms such as nausea, coughing, shortness of breath and even pneumonia.
You should also avoid mixing bleach with vinegar.
Despite the combination sounding like it would make a nifty disinfectant, it will also make a chlorine gas, which will put you in the same position as Dominique.
Never mix bleach with anything (Image: iStockphoto)
Rubbing alcohol is another substance you should keep far, far away from bleach as a mixture of the two will create hydrochloric acid and chloroform - you know, the stuff kidnappers use in movies to knock their victims out?
Too much chloroform in your house could cause you to pass out or even kill you.
Moreover the hydrochloric acid could give you a nasty chemical burn.
Other products you should avoid putting together are hydrogen peroxide and vinegar, which make a peracetic acid that can be toxic and cause irritation to the skin, eyes and respiratory system.
Baking soda and vinegar should also stay a good distance apart - despite what you may previously have been told. When mixed together the baking powder begins to foam up, so if stored in a container, the mix could at some point explode.
