About a year ago, just as everyone was thinking about making their own sanitisation handwash and scrubbing groceries with bleach and soapy water at the start of the pandemic, I wrote a feature article for Chemistry World to warn people not to mix bleach and other cleaning fluids. There are serious risks of generating toxic fumes, chlorine gas, and such. The article was fairly well received, I believe.
Interesting that an episode of the BBC’s Call the Midwife (S10E05), which is set in the 1960s, Â has a sub-plot where a character foolishly mixes some cleaning products…and Doctor Turner, played by the dashing Steve McGann, dashes in to warn of the dangers as the fumes billow from the bucket. I asked him on Twitter if my article had been the inspiration…this was his reply and I quote:
Ha! David, you are our primary source for all things! :-)
Thanks Steve