Are you looking to step up your cleaning game within your business? Whether you just want the floors to shine or you have a more heavy-duty business and need a heavy-duty cleaner to help you keep things in order, you'll find a lot to like with aqua ammonia. This extremely potent chemical is used to clean through gunk and stains and is also used to purify or stabilize other water-based solutions. But ammonia as a substance is also potentially dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Here are some important tips to keep in mind in order to keep your employees safe while cleaning with ammonia.
Ammonia Can Break Down A Tough Stain But Use In Moderation
A little bit of ammonia goes a long way. You will always want to water down your ammonia with water. One cup of liquid ammonia per one gallon of water is generally a safe measurement. If you will be using ammonia cleaning solution all day long, consider switching out workers every couple of hours so that the same employee is not exposed to any fumes from the ammonia over the course of the entire day.
Ammonia And Bleach Do Not Mix
While you want to mix ammonia with water, one substance you should never mix it with is bleach. When ammonia and bleach mix together, these two substances create a hazardous gas called chloramine. Inhaling even a little bit of this gas can cause severe irritation to your nose, throat and lungs. Prolonged exposure could even be deadly. Ammonia and bleach are both well-known as strong cleaning solutions but mixing them together is a very bad idea.
Keep Area Well-Ventilated
When cleaning your business with ammonia, try to keep a window or two open or keep a fan or other form of ventilation running. Prolonged exposure to ammonia can irritate the nose and throat, and no one really wants to smell like ammonia for the rest of the day either.
Store As You Would Any Other Hazardous Material
When storing ammonia, make sure you are putting it anywhere near your stored bleach. If there should ever be a spill or any other incident where the two substances come together, you could be creating a very hazardous situation. Ammonia is not highly flammable as a substance, but it could explode when exposed to very high temperatures, so don't store your ammonia outdoors in a shed during the summertime or anywhere without air conditioning or proper cooling.