Combining bleach and ammonia is a common mistake people make once. The resulting vapor will either kill them or provide a potent reminder not to do it again.
Correct. Mixed together certain household chemicals can result in the release of chlorine gas, which, as you probably already know, was used as a chemical weapon during WWI.
Accidentally did this myself when cleaning up my base housing unit for turn-in back in the 1970s. Happened in the kitchen as I recall. I don’t remember a distinct smell because just the slightest whiff was enough to tell my brain to get out of the space pronto and then do max ventilation to get the place aired out and the chemical cocktail cleared out.
Today, of course, cleaning products have very general warnings on their labels about not mixing cleaning products. I haven’t done it myself (and don’t intend to), but there are probably pretty specific postings on the Internet telling which cleaning products on which proportions yield toxic gases, etc. when mixed together. Why? Because in the minds of some...persons ...”information” must “be free”; no matter how irresponsible it is to make it available to the general public. Well, at least today there are monitoring groups going to such websites and either getting content taken down or monitoring who specifically is accessing it.
I was the leader of the Hazmat Team on my shift for years. While combining bleach and ammonia does release toxic and irritating chloramine gas, it would be pretty difficult to kill yourself with it. But it can be very unpleasant if you do it in an enclosed space.
I used to dig into mole hills and put a coke can that I had cut in half in it and pour bleach and ammonia into the can. Then I would put a cover over the hole so the gas would chase the moles off. I never found a dead mole, but it did seem to chase them off. Afterward I would just flush the cans out with the garden hose. It never did any damage to the yard. This was someone else’s idea so I can't take credit for it.
The hydrogen sulfide suicide thing was pretty big a few years ago. I am sorry that it might be making a comeback. You can make small amounts of hydrogen sulphide gas just by heating sulfur and candle wax together. It is very nasty. I got into big trouble for stinking up the house when I was a kid. My parents took away the super deluxe chemistry kit that I had put together. They didn't offer to give it back until I was about 30.
Whats the deal with that? Chlorine gas?