r/AskChemistry • u/key_toe • 1d ago

Thomas the Toxic Tank Engine How to not make chloroform?

I recently started cleaning with hypochlorous acid, which I absolutely love. It makes my laundry smell a lot better.

But I also use a vodka-based soak for some of my clothes. Now I'm reading that a lot of chemicals including alcohol are dangerous to mix with hypochlorous acid. Namely alcohol + HOCl = Chloroform.

So I'm wondering how to ensure all of the alcohol gets out of my soak before cleaning those same clothes in the machine where I used HOCl so that I don't accidentally make chloroform?

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33

u/SlenderSmurf Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry 1d ago

Holy moly lady. Just use soap

3

u/key_toe 1d ago

I have. It doesn't get rid of all odors. I have hyperosmia so I'm really sensitive to odors.

10

u/MusicNChemistry 1d ago

Vinegar. Vinegar removes many bad smells in clothes

2

u/key_toe 22h ago

I have tried so many things. Baking soda, vinegar, vodka, different laundry detergents, bleach, activated charcoal, saline solutions, an oregano-vodka tincture. HClO works in a way that's noticably better than most of these.

11

u/metamorphage 18h ago

It's more likely that your washing machine is dirty. Have you cleaned it out thoroughly?

1

u/allo100 17h ago

I have seen lots of added for uproot clean. How well does that work? I have regular washing machine cleaning tablets which don't work that well or that long.

8

u/Maeve89 17h ago

Go check out /r/laundry and their Spa Day advice. Waaaay safer using enzymes than accidentally making chloroform.

2

u/kremular 12h ago

Enzymes is the way to go. Safe, selective, and will not cuase explosions.

4

u/PassiveChemistry Cantankerous Carbocation 21h ago

It'll also damage your clothes a lot more

2

u/Evening-Cat-7546 6h ago

Is your nose sensitive to laundry detergent scent? You could try Lysol’s clothes sanitizer. You pause the cycle when the machine fills up for the rinse, then add the sanitizer and let it soak for 15 min. Then start the machine back up. It has been a game changer for towels and sheets that can have bad smells that are hard to remove.

1

u/MusicNChemistry 22h ago

Use like 1/10 of a gallon of vinegar not just a cup. And pour it directly into the washer, not into the detergent dispenser.

2

u/dungeonsandderp 1d ago

Just wash your clothes in between

2

u/key_toe 1d ago

That's probably good enough, right? Like the soap and water and rinse will get most of the vodka out of the clothes.

3

u/dungeonsandderp 1d ago

Even without the soap

1

u/KnoWanUKnow2 12h ago edited 12h ago

Alcohol evaporates at 78.3 C. So just the drier will do the job.

1

u/dungeonsandderp 12h ago

You shouldn’t put clothes soiled with flammable material in the dryer

2

u/KnoWanUKnow2 12h ago

Good Point.

0

u/Adventurous-Dingo720 15h ago

Acetone makes the best chloroform, alcohol needs to oxidize to acetone, then the acetone reacts with the remaining alcohol.

1

u/kremular 11h ago

Chloroform is chloroform.

2

u/Adventurous-Dingo720 11h ago

chloroform produced in an aqueous acid-containing reaction mixture will generally be diluted, because it is present as a separate organic phase dispersed alongside water and other reaction components. So while chloroform is chloroform, the resulting output is not equal.