Sigh Please don’t just repeat something you may have “heard” form
someone else. Do a bit of research and at least give proper
1- Bleach and Ammonia DO NOT create mustard gas. The create Chlorine,
a very different gas, although Chlorine is dangerous as well it is
not in the same class as mustard gas. See
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/mustard/mustard.htm
For more info on bleach and Ammonia Google it or ask anyone with
basic chemical training.
But for those who can’t here is an excerpt for the non technical
person…
That warning is there to protect you. Household bleach has a
chemical formula of NaOCl - that is, one atom each of sodium,
oxygen, and chlorine. Its chemical name, for the curious, is
sodium hypochlorite. Ammonia has a chemical formula of NH3,
that is, one atom of nitrogen and three atoms of hydrogen. When
these two compounds are combined, the following reaction takes
place:
2(parts) NaOCl + 2NH3 --> 2NaONH3 + Cl2.
Do you see that Cl2 on the right hand side there? This means
one part chlorine gas, made up of diatomic (two atom)
molecules. It also means that the chlorine gas has been
liberated from the bleach, and is quite capable of causing you
harm when inhaled!
Now on to the second problem with the statement “at Radio Shack, one
guy there said that floor waxes have bleach as a constituent element”
I am happy to find that people who are experts on dangerous
materials can be found at the local radio shack. Can I suggest a
local University Chemical department as possibly a better place to
find Accurate For a not too technical description of
what a wax is see Wax - Wikipedia
However I will give that there is no telling what a maker might try
to mix in a commercial product despite the fact that Bleach is a
water based product and by definition wax is non-miscible (does not
mix) with water.
Anytime one is working or contemplating working with a product today
has no excuse given the internet and legislated availability of MSDS
not to research what they are working with. The other
point is that frequently the “public” usage of a name differs over
time and locale (Thinking back to the discussion we had here on
Ether last year). Therefore not only should you try to find the
on what you are using, but you should also try to
determine what the original recipe called for. As an example here
(Using wax as a resist) I am guessing that the technique calls for an
older organic wax like beeswax, not a modern synthetic which could
cause problems during and after the fabrication. (LOL just thinking
of the effect of putting a silicone based wax on something and then
trying to remove it with common cleaners…)
Kay.