Uses for Bleach and Vinegar

Uses for Bleach and Vinegar Mixing vinegar and bleach strengthens the cleaning and disinfecting properties of the chemicals, yet it also produces toxic vapors. Do you mix vinegar and bleach for specific purposes? If so, what is your use of the mixture? These are answers and experiences submitted by readers. NEVER AGAIN !!!! I was dumping out dirty water from the mop bucket into my shower drain didnt think anything of it . I was quick to pour water and bleach in the bucket and completely forgot vinegar was leftover and voila, a coughing fit burning eyes. Mind you I live in an old house, so there isnt much ventilation but I have all the doors and windows open to no avail. Its effects are horrible   cant get the smell out of my nose and the light headedness. - annon The devil is in the dilution At alkaline pH values of about 8.5 or higher, more than 90% of the bleach is in the form of the chlorite ion (OCl-), which is relatively ineffective antimicrobially. At acidic pH values of about 6.8 or lower, more than 80% of the bleach is in the form of hypochlorite (HOCl). HOCl is about 80 to 200 times more antimicrobial than OCl-. - googleit Vinegar Bleach Cleaner Mix one-gallon water with 2 oz. bleach and 2 oz. vinegar in a spray bottle; the most effective disinfectant cleaner for counters, floors, sinks, etc. and helps prevent fruit flies. - Keyna Welenc Bleach IS an acid! DANGER! Chlorine bleach contains sodium hypochlorite or NaOCl. Because bleach is Sodium hypochlorite in water, the sodium hypochlorite in bleach actually exists as hypochlorous acid: I worked calibrating chlorine detectors. And if you mix Bleach with vinegar it produces chlorine gas! It is deadly and should NOT be done under any circumstance! A danger to life article here cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/intridl4.html also see: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/832336-overview - DayoIII Bleach is not an acid. Bleach is not an acid, it is a strong base. adding vinegar WILL lower the pH, but since bleach has a HIGH pH, adding vinegar will only neutralize it. Another use for mixing vinegar with bleach is to create a strong oxidizing chemical, used to turn (for example) steel wool into iron oxide (Fe2O3), used for color pigments, or chemistry experiments. - Professor good to know! these are good things to know! especially being someone who is just starting to live on my own and not living in the nicest places that are available. Getting rid of the mold and smells are important, but not that important. My go-to chemical is straight up comet bleach. It worked for my grandmother and my mother and it works for me! Less risk of dangerous fumes than mixing or the liquid since it is powder form. - CHEM II Student Good God! - It Wasnt a Miracle Cleaner I believe the miracle is that I am still alive and breathing! because about 4 hours ago I mixed up a large amount 1/1 mix of bleach /vinegar the only time in my life desperately seeking an inexpensive solution to molds/parasites in a large outdoor aviary/cage which also houses a small shop that I spend a great deal of time with my cat in. He just came in from the area the l was sizzling. Will he be OK? I did it to protect him from potentially harmful spores/ect.. but what have I done! Im so worried about him the tiny little fellow! and what happens when it rains tonight does it start reacting again. Or should I rinse well w/garden hose or should I avoid re-wetting it, I even bent down closer to the ground watching it react ! and observed for at least 1/2 hr? yeeeeeps! stupid girl!. I cant tell if my throat /chest hurts or not I think maybe yes or my worried imagination? - Judy still suffering I was cleaning a rather old shower, still had the stainless steel base. I spray sellys 3 min mold cleaner on the shower walls and polaris stainless steel cleaner on the base. I left it to work for 3 mins then went in and scrubbed the base, as i did this my eyes started burning and coughing.I didnt know that the two cleaners where reacting, just thinking the bleach was rather strong. it wasnt until i got home 3 - 4 hrs later my husband said Id inhaled chloric gases given off from the two products. I rang the poison center and was told to flush the eyes for 15 mins and go to the local hospital. I flushed my eyes but didnt go to the hospital. 2 weeks later Im still suffering from acute sinus and headaches. Do not underestimate the dangers of bleach. - Kiwi I almost died Today I was cleaning my kitchen floor with vinegar and liquid dishwashing detergent. I scrubbed the floor and still could not get all the stains out. Thought Id use a little bit of bleach. Boy! It was like the vinegar potentiated the odor of the bleach (now I know the chlorine gas was released). I was coughing, entire airway irritated. Felt close to losing consciousness and struggled to get kitchen windows open. I did, but I was just to overcome. Left the kitchen and went upstairs. Opened up 3 more windows and just could not get myself straight. Its been about 4 hours since the incident. My airway is still irritated and Wheezing is audible, and I consider myself stupid but alive. I have always respected bleach but just didnt appreciate that household vinegar could react with it with such dire consequences. - Brenda Outdoor Nastiness I use it to clear up mold and mildew on the patio. The fumes arent a problem outside and it does a number on discolored yuckiness outdoors. - CleanGirl

5 Expensive Comma Typos from History

5 Expensive Comma Typos from History 5 Expensive Comma Typos from History You might not give commas much thought on a day-to-day basis. They’re just punctuation. But what if we told you that one misplaced comma could cost your business millions? Strap in, then, and join us for a look at five of the most expensive comma typos in history. 1. James Joyce’s Unwanted Commas ($300,000) The experimental style of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses included many deliberate errors, such as passages of unpunctuated text. Unfortunately, those faced with transcribing his manuscripts sometimes â€Å"corrected† these errors. And one well-meaning volunteer added hundreds of commas to a 40-page passage that was meant to be entirely comma free! James Joyce: Literary visionary, proofreaders nightmare. These comma typos were reproduced in each edition of the book until the 1980s, when a new version was released with the commas removed and other deliberate errors restored. But this process cost around $300,000, so you can see why hiring a good editor is worth the money! 2. Rogers Communications Inc. vs. Bell Aliant (approx. $525,000) Comma placement gave rise to a dispute between Rogers Communications and Bell Aliant worth over half a million dollars. The comma typo in question lies somewhere in this passage: Subject to the termination provisions of this Agreement, this Agreement shall be effective from the date it is made and shall continue in force for a period of five (5) years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five (5) year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party. Did you spot it? It’s the comma before â€Å"unless† that caused the problem. Bell Aliant took it to mean that the clause about terminating the contract applied to the initial five-year period. But Rogers Communications argued it only applied if the contract was renewed after this initial period. In the end, the parties resolved the issue by checking the French version of the contract. Thankfully, this version was free from comma typos. 3. An Oxford Comma in Maine ($5,000,000) Leaving a serial comma (i.e., a comma before the final item in a list) out of a contract cost a dairy company in Maine five million dollars. This came after a dispute with its drivers about overtime. In particular, Maine’s overtime law contains a clause about exemptions from overtime that uses the phrase â€Å"packing for shipment or distribution of.† The dairy company said that â€Å"distribution† was meant to be a separate item in this list. But without a comma to make this clear, the drivers successfully argued that they were owed overtime and forced the company to settle. 4. The US Government vs. Fruit (approx. $38,400,000) Rather than a missing comma, an unwanted comma in US Tariff Act of 1872 cost the US Government two million dollars (around $38.4 million in today’s money). The issue arose because of a clause that exempted â€Å"fruit plants† from import tariffs. Or that was the intention, at least. However, someone added a comma between â€Å"fruit† and â€Å"plants.† And since fruit was expensive, importers took advantage of this loophole until it was closed two years later, by which point US taxpayers had lost out on revenue. Presumably, though, they gained access to affordable bananas. You could buy a lot of fruit for $38.4 million. 5. Lockheed Martin vs. Inflation ($70,000,000) Lockheed Martin are a multibillion-dollar global corporation. Nevertheless, they were worse off by $70 million after one comma typo in a contract. The error was in an equation used to adjust interest rates over time, meaning Lockheed’s calculations were wrong. And they lost a lot of money. In this case, then, one misplaced comma ended up costing a company more than the average GDP of Tuvalu. And if that doesn’t make you hire a proofreader, we don’t know what will.