Ammonia vs Sodium hypochlorite: what is the difference?
Ammonia cleans glass and grease and sodium hypochlorite is bleach, and mixing the two makes chloramines, a toxic gas that badly irritates the airways.
Sources and notes
- The sentence under the titlefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
- The two drawingscomputedMoleculeFinder rule (RDKit MCS)Each molecule's own drawing, as its page shows it. No common core.
Side by side
| Ammonia | Sodium hypochlorite | |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weightCalculated PubChem | 17.03 g/molH3N | 74.44 g/molClNaO |
| Hydrogen-bond donorsCalculated PubChem | 1 | 0 |
| Where each turns upEditorial MoleculeFinder food and product lists |
|
|
| FamilyEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Inorganic compounds | Inorganic compounds |
| Everyday groupEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Everyday chemistry | Everyday chemistry |
| Chemical groupsCalculated Found by rule (RDKit) | Not recorded | Halogenated |
| Hazard labelReported ECHA, EU CLP Regulation, Safe Work Australia, HSDB via PubChem; ECHA, EU CLP Regulation, Safe Work Australia via PubChem | Danger | Danger |
| The supplier-filed hazard label's signal word, not a statement about ordinary use. | ||
| Oral LD50Measured HSDB via PubChem | Not recorded | 8,910 mg/kgpure sodium hypochlorite, rat, oral |
| A single acute animal measure. It ranks nothing about human safety. | ||
Sources and notes
- Molecular weightcomputedPubChemComputed from the structure; the formula is under each weight.
- Hydrogen-bond donorscomputedPubChemThe hydrogens on nitrogen or oxygen that each molecule can lend to a hydrogen bond, counted from its structure.
- Where each turns upfrom sourceMoleculeFinder food and product listsEach amount is an editorial figure from our lists, not a measurement of any one product. Each mark is set by hand on the list, never inferred.
- Familyfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Everyday groupfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Chemical groupscomputedFound by rule (RDKit)Each group is found in the structure by a chemical pattern.
- Hazard labelfrom sourceECHA, EU CLP Regulation, Safe Work Australia, HSDB via PubChem; ECHA, EU CLP Regulation, Safe Work Australia via PubChem
- Oral LD50from sourceHSDB via PubChem
- ECHAfrom sourceAttributionSource: European Chemicals Agency, echa.europa.eu.
- EU CLP Regulationfrom sourceAttributionSource: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, © European Union.
- Safe Work Australiafrom sourceAttributionSource: Safe Work Australia, Hazardous Chemical Information System, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0.
- Identifiersfrom sourcePubChemPubChem CID 222 (Ammonia) and 23665760 (Sodium hypochlorite).
In more detail
That reaction is the one reason this pair matters. Sodium hypochlorite in water releases hypochlorous acid, and hypochlorous acid reacts with ammonia to form chloramines, which irritate the airways badly and can be dangerous in an enclosed room. Both are common household cleaners in their own right, bleach for whitening and disinfecting and ammonia for glass and grease, and both carry a GHS Danger signal word on their own. Ammonia is the far smaller molecule at 17.03 against 74.44 and is a gas dissolved in water rather than a salt. Dissolved in water, ammonia is alkaline, which breaks up grease, and it evaporates completely, which is why it leaves glass without streaks. The reason many cleaning products warn against mixing is this reaction specifically.
Sources and notes
- The paragraphfrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notes
Questions
- What is the difference between Ammonia and Sodium hypochlorite?
- Ammonia cleans glass and grease and sodium hypochlorite is bleach, and mixing the two makes chloramines, a toxic gas that badly irritates the airways.
- Is Ammonia bigger than Sodium hypochlorite?
- Sodium hypochlorite is the heavier molecule, 74.44 g/mol against 17.03 g/mol for Ammonia. Ammonia is H3N and Sodium hypochlorite is ClNaO.
Sources and notes
- The answersfrom sourceMoleculeFinderThe first is the pair's answer line; the others are read off the table above.