Have you recently begun to detect and notice a strong-smelling odor hanging in the air of your environment? The smells in a home can come from a variety of sources, whether it be from musty mold growth, pet smell, food odors, and even the smell of chemical cleaning agents hanging in the air after using them on the surfaces of your home. Ammonia is a fairly popular cleaning agent that is marked by its potent odor that can quickly turn into gaseous fumes in the air of the environment. So, does this mean that the use of ammonia should be kept to a minimum in your home, and if so, what can you use to fight odors and eliminate them from the surfaces of your home? In this article we are going to learn more about the impact that ammonia has on an indoor environment and discuss the best options to use indoors to neutralize strong odors that are harbored in the home’s surfaces and air.

What is Household Ammonia

Ammonia is a colorless gas that has a distinct odor when applied or released into the environment. This chemical cleaning agent is a building-block chemical and a key component in the manufacturing of several products used each and every day. The naturally occurring chemical ammonia is found throughout the environment in the air, soil, water, and in plants and animals. The form of ammonia that is used to clean a home is ammonia hydroxide, which is the primary ingredient in those household cleaning agents used to deodorize and eliminate odors from the surfaces. The cleaning products that contain ammonia are typically used to clean a variety of household surfaces including tubs, sinks and toilets, kitchen counter tops, and tile. This chemical agent is used in these products because of its ability to effectively break down household grimes and stains from the surfaces. Ammonia is a fast-acting chemical that evaporates quickly, which is why it is a common ingredient in most glass cleaning solutions to minimize streaking on the glass. Additionally, ammonia is also used in a home in other capacities other than in cleaning products. This chemical compound can be released in the home through cat urine ammonia, refrigerant leaking, and even from fertilizer under the home’s exterior that can seep into the home.

What Does Ammonia Do

When it comes to using ammonia as a cleaning agent, there are multiple uses that this chemical can be used for in home cleaning. Ammonia can be used on a variety of sources from clothing, flooring, surfaces, etc. When using ammonia on clothes it can act as a prewash stain treatment, as well as a fabric softener in laundry. For use on surfaces in the home like tile, walls, and windows, it can be applied in a solution to clean these areas of dirt, grime, and stains.

Is Cleaning with Ammonia Toxic?

Cleaning your home with ammonia may not be as easy of a process as you think it is, as there are many factors to consider and items that should not be mixed with this chemical such as bleach that will create a potentially toxic environment. When ammonia is combined with bleach it will produce hazardous fumes into the air that can become easily ingested or inhaled by those in the indoor space. This interaction between ammonia and bleach can often times happen without knowledge of this mixing, since bleach is a common ingredient found in many chemical cleaning solutions used throughout the home. When and if this interaction occurs, it can be potentially toxic to indoor air quality and human health after significant levels of exposure. Ammonia, when used alone, can also lead to certain health effects as it vaporizes into the air. This chemical can lead to potential irritation of the eyes, respiratory tract, and skin, according to Hunker. Additionally, if ammonia is ingested into the body it can impact the central nervous system and potentially cause shock and convulsions. It is important to avoid exposure to this chemical in your environment, especially through inhalation of the fumes in the air into your body. Therefore, if you must use ammonia cleaner in your home, it is best to use protective equipment such as respirator masks and gloves to avoid contact and exposure.

How Long Does Ammonia Smell Last

The use and application of ammonia will produce strong-smelling aromas into the air through the emission of fumes that are airborne after use, this smell can be both noxious and irritating to human health. The ammonia can enter into the air and spread throughout the environment before you are even exposed to higher concentration levels in the air. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR), ammonia smell will last in the air for about 1 week after its initial introduction into the indoor environment.

What Does Smelling Ammonia Do

As we discussed earlier, when ammonia is present in the air as a vapor it can easily be breathed into the body and this will be done by smelling the ammonia odor in the air. The ammonia odor and concentrations in the air can be inhaled into the body and trigger health symptoms such as coughing, nose, and throat irritation. This exposure can be potentially hazardous when looming in the air of your personal indoor environment and will need to be avoided through the use of alternative cleaning products or neutralization methods that will eliminate the ammonia smell in the air.

How to Neutralize Ammonia

When it comes to the introduction of ammonia in the environment, particularly through the use of chemical cleaning agents, you may look for ways on how to expel the smell that this chemical produces into the air. The smell of ammonia is an offensive odor that will require a strong, and powerful solution to eliminate from both the air and the surfaces. Often people will turn to natural household deodorizers such as vinegar, baking soda, and even hydrogen peroxide to eliminate this odor. Although all of these solutions work to deodorize chemicals and chemical odors it may not be the best solution to remove strong ammonia odors.

Get Rid of Ammonia Smell on Surfaces

The OdorKlenz Source Odor Treatment is an odor neutralizing solution that can be applied to any water-safe surface to completely eliminate a broad spectrum of chemical odors including ammonia. OdorKlenz is made from earth minerals with a simple and effective proprietary formula, and it can be used on a water-safe surface including carpeting, rugs, various surfaces, and soft and hard surfaces. This solution will cover 18 square feet of source contamination on surfaces to safely eliminate the toughest odor sources without the use of masking agents, fragrances, and harsh chemicals. Follow the directions on how to use the OdorKlenz Source Odor Treatment now!

Source Odor Treatment

$19.99 - $34.99

✓ Made of Safe, Natural earth minerals that provide a complete odor elimination on fabrics

✓ Fast acting, without the use of masking agents or fragrances

✓ Safe to use on all water-safe surfaces including carpeting, rugs, various surfaces, and soft and hard surfaces

✓ Designed to eliminate the toughest odor sources without the use of masking agents, fragrances, or harsh chemicals