I stupidly mixed white vinegar and bleach and am now stuck with a difficult problem. The toilet clogged last night and water was filled almost to the top so and I didn’t feel like plunging it so I added a cup of distilled white vinegar since that can help unclog toilets. The water did not go down so I thought ohh get me add some bleach to take care of the black ring that always appears on the toilet and added a cup of bleach. I then cleaned the bathroom etc for 30 minutes then put on the fan and took a 25 minute bath. Throughout all of this I did not feel unwell or sick, the only thing that happened was my eczema came back on my hand that was pouring the bleach. I only googles what happens when you mix vinegar and bleach after and am now terrified. I put the fan on in the bathroom and closed the door since I thought the water would slowly go down on its own. I live in a cold state so I cant open up the windows, the house is locked up. As of this morning it was the same, now the water has somehow risen and is leaking onto the floor. What the hell do I do? If I use a plunger should I worry about being poisoned? I’ll need to use a cup or something to remove some water since it’s overflowing too. How toxic are the fumes? I breathed it in for like an hour. Should I wash the towels and curtains near the toilet and get a new toothbrush since mine was by the sink? No water got on any clothing yet. Also one of the most important questions, do I need to go to the hospital? I am so annoyed at myself, I thought of looking it up first but just thought it would be fine. Damn I fucked up.
Edit : was 1 cup of bleach or slightly a little more, 1 cup of distilled white vinegar and a full clogged toilet of maybe 1.2 gallons of water.
TL;DR: I mixed bleach and vinegar in a clogged toilet and inhaled the fumes for an hour and the toilet is still overflowing.
Comments
I would wager that if you are not feeling unwell right now you are probably fine. As for the toilet, you are going to need to plunger it. If the room doesn’t smell bad, you are fine. More than likely the water in the toilet diluted it enough that the reaction wasn’t severe enough to cause a real problem.
It was diluted so much that you’re going to be perfectly fine.
I’m not a doctor, but if I had to guess, because it was diluted by the toilet water and added separately you are most likely ok. Plunge your toilet tho.
Call the poison control, the number should be on the back of the bleach bottle, and fuck the cold open the windows a bit, and yes get a new toothbrush
They mix to make chlorine, which is in pools, and your city water already. So as long as it not in high quantity or concentrated you should be fine. Its ammonia and bleach that gets bad fast. That makes Chloramine.
Very common fu. I made this huge mistake myself when I was using bleach to clean up old Urine stains left behind my cat who had just passed away. Luckily you’ll never make it again
You’re fine. If you had mixed enough to make a toxic gas, you’d KNOW. You would have fled the room, coughing so you could hardly breathe, eyes streaming so you couldn’t see. Very small amounts cause these systems.
If you call a plumber, by all means tell them what you have tried, and if you disturb the contents of the bowl, do it with the fan on and a clear path for a rapid exit.
That stuff is not going to hurt you. So much drama about nothing 😂 Why don’t you use a plunger and be done?
With it dilute like that it shouldn’t be a extreme issue open the windows even if it is cold turn on the fan and plunger it.
If you had mixed them directly you would have made a white or yellow smoke that would have stuck to you given chemical burns and been inhale able also causing chemical burns since it was into black water and only a small amount that is likely what caused it to not gas you.
It should be safe enough to plunger
Chlorine gas was used as a weapon in WWI.
You would know if you had gassed yourself with a now-illegal weapon of war. You haven’t.
Go open the window, forget about the cold. Wear a sweatshirt. Put on a mask if you have one. Get a bucket and scoop out water from the toilet, pour it in the sink. Use a plunger.
If you aren’t feeling unwell, I wouldn’t go to the hospital. You are probably fine.
Pour a cup of liquid soap (like liquid hand soap) in the toilet and let it set for 30 minutes. It will soften the clog. Meanwhile, head a pot of hot water and slowly pour into the toilet. It should go down. If not, add more hot water. After the water goes down to the normal level you can flush it.