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Posted: 8/17/2011 4:03:59 PM EDT
I had to clean out the toilet in our bathroom this past weekend with muriatic acid.  Well there was still a little bit of that left over 2000 flushes blue bleach stuff in the tank I forgot about since it had been in there so long and wasn't much left.  During the time I had the acid in the toilet I had the windows open and the fan blowing the fumes out but that smell is still stuck in there.  I washed all the towels and mats and curtains, etc. but that smell is still lingering.  I honestly don't know if it's the acid itself causing the odor or perhaps the chlorine from the resulting chemical reaction.

I need some suggestions to get this smell out...and yes I've tried leaving the windows open for quite a while already.

Link Posted: 8/17/2011 5:12:16 PM EDT
[#1]
You can try Baking Soda and water and wash down bathroom. If you really made mustard gas it is heaver  than air and settles to the floor.

If chlorine smell is still evident go to a swimming pool supply house and ask for chlorine neutralizer [comes in a powder like table salt dissolve in water] and wash bathroom down again.

GOOD LUCK
Link Posted: 8/18/2011 7:04:26 PM EDT
[#2]
The smell is not mustard gas but more than likely its chlorine or chlorine dioxide. The reaction between the acid and bleach causes a reaction that will let the chlorine to disassociate from the solution. Most likely the 2000 flushes has calcium hypochlorite in the mixture, and when mixed with the acid caused the smell (a highly toxic gas). I don't know how to rid the smell of it from your property to say that other than it being heavier than air it will tend to sink to the lowest places. Its lucky that you had the window open or you could find yourself in serious medical trouble.
Link Posted: 8/19/2011 5:16:26 AM EDT
[#3]
I believe mustard gas is created from a mixture of bleach and ammonia, not bleach and a chlorine component of some type, thus that's why I would tend to agree that it was chlorine gas being released.  But yes there was no way in hell I was going to even attempt an acid cleaning without the windows open and the fan set on high speed blowing air out.  I know what that stuff is capable of and it isn't pretty.  Once or twice a couple of strong fumes got in my nose fast enough before I realized it and forced myself to exhale.  Absolutely nasty shit.  I truly feel for those guys in WWI who were killed or otherwise permanently injured by that stuff.  The mucus glands in your nose immediately kick into overdrive as sort of a self-defense mechanism as best I can tell, nonetheless it's a terrible way to go.  I think I'd rather take a bullet to the head.

Anyway, back on topic, I'll pick up some neutralizer tomorrow and give that a try with a thorough cleaning.
Link Posted: 8/19/2011 6:19:17 PM EDT
[#4]
I work on commercial swimming pools and to clean them we use acid one Olympic pool I muck out in the spring we use up to 300 gal of acid to remove the leaf stains.
As I tell newbie pool boys I love the smell of acid in the morning.

In New York the commercial  swimming pool Sanitary  code states that on top of chlorine injection [bleach] you also have to inject acid to be able to control the PH, Liquid chlorine has a PH of 13. Accidents will happen and every few years swimming pool staff will mistakenly mix the two they usually mix chlorine into the acid crock  [acid crock is smaller] I'm glad they don't call us for the clean-up that is one nasty deadly mixture.

I've been breathing in acid and chlorine fumes for 32 years and waiting for the shoe to drop, the only problem is I haven't been sick in about 15 years
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