Ammonia-good for laundry, washers?

[partscounterman]

In order to get the jeans I wear to service coffee machines clean, I have been spiking my prewash with some of the cheap ammonia from Kmart. Will I harm my Kenmore HE3t with this? I do not recall what the old Maytag encylopedia of Home Laundry said about this as my copy has fallen into the big gay black hole of life.

A side note about ammonia-when I was a kid my Dad used to bring home jugs of it that they used on the blueprint machines at work. It seems like if they didn't use it up fast enough it would go weak, but still plenty strong for cleaning. Who knows what makes a 10 year old boy do the things he does: One day I took a good whiff off that bottle. DAY-AMN Did that stuff have some kick to it! Talk about clearing out your sinuses! After I had moved out, I grabbed one of these jugs of said ammonia from home and used apparently too much to clean an old linoleum floor. The floor dissolved as I washed it.

 

[sudsmaster]

Ammonia should be relatively safe for washers, as it is alkaline and most laundry detergents are alkaline. However, be careful not to mix it with chlorine bleach. Those two combine to produce phosgene gas, which is lethal.

As I understand it, ammonia in any concentration should not be used on linoleum. Floor waxes and polishes that contain ammonia should not be used on linoleum, either. There are linoleum safe floor waxes and polishes, however, you just have to read the labels carefully.

 

[partscounterman]

Thanks

I knew the thing about mixing ammonia with chlorine bleach, but since the results are so dangerous, it bears repeating.

I'm glad I'm not ruining the washer!

 

[toggleswitch]

Ammoina is a great degreaser, but to cats it registers as pee and "here is a good place to pee!"

Methinks a good vinegar rinse is in order. They don't like citrus in general.

Acid + base(alkaline)= salt + water

 

[sudsmaster]

Re: cleaning out sinuses with a whiff of ammonia - it was a main component of "smelling salts" to try to revive one who has fainted.

 

[mixedup]

Re: smelling salts & ammonia

It still is. At the outpatient center we keep ammonia inhalant capsules handy in case a patient starts to pass out while we're starting an I.V. One was used on me once when I was donating blood & the edges started to go a little dark on me. They work by causing a person to take a huge deep breath, getting more oxygen to the brain. Oh boy do they work!

Virginia