This TikTok-Viral DIY Mopping Solution Could Do Serious Damage To Your Floors

Some TikTok ideas are bad. Some can even be dangerous. This one is both. In the video, someone combines bleach, Mr. Clean, Downy fabric softener, Ariel powder laundry detergent, and hot water to mop their floors, and if you're not already horrified, then this warning is for you. Depending on what kind of floors you have, this combination of chemicals could do major damage, minor damage, or simply leave your floors dirty in a new and different way. Oh, and the resulting fumes combine to form toxic gasses like chloroform, chlorine gas, or chloramine gas.

If you're unfamiliar, chloroform is the stuff movie villains constantly have on hand whenever they need to render someone unconscious. They always lay their victim gently down, but in real life it would hurt if you passed out and banged your head on the countertop. In addition to dizziness and fainting, long-term exposure could damage your organs. Chloroform is created when bleach reacts with either alcohol or dirty water. Chances are if you're mopping with bleach, you're going to come into contact with quite a lot of dirt.

As for chlorine and chloramine gasses, these are both poisonous compounds that cause a variety of health concerns from mild irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes to severe respiratory distress and death. Chlorine gas, from a mixture of bleach and acids, was the first chemical weapon used in World War I, while chloramine gas is the deadly combination of bleach and ammonia your parents should've warned you about. In other words, stay away.

Let's break down the video. First comes bleach. As we already know, bleach is a highly dangerous substance. It should only be used in small, diluted quantities and should never be mixed with other cleaning agents. In addition, bleach isn't good for porous surfaces like hardwood, marble, or laminate floors, and since bleach degrades grout over time, it shouldn't be used on any grouted tile floor, either. That doesn't leave too many options.

Next comes Mr. Clean Summer Citrus, which contains, among other things, citric acid. While citric acid is fairly mild, it doesn't matter in this case; bleach should never be mixed with acids of any kind because it produces chlorine gas. Frankly, the Mr. Clean on its own should be more than enough to handle your floors if used as directed because it already contains disinfectants, which is essentially all you're using the bleach for.

After this comes fabric softener and laundry detergent, which is maddening. First, both contain acids, and the Ariel also contains hydrogen peroxide which, when mixed with bleach, can literally explode, and alcohol, which makes chloroform. Moreover, while fabric softener can give floors extra shine, that's only on certain surfaces and only after a full clean. As for laundry detergent? Yes, it's soap, but Mr. Clean is already soap. Plus, detergent is super-concentrated, particularly in powdered form. You'd be drowning your floor in superfluous chemicals that will leave a filmy residue or a whole lot worse. Don't do it.