What makes chloroform

Mixing bleach and alcohol forms chloroform, a sedative powerful enough to make you pass out or potentially die. Actually, you should avoid mixing bleach with any disinfectant or cleaner to avoid producing toxic fumes. The key ingredient in household bleach is sodium hypochlorite.

Sodium hypochlorite reacts with ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and other types of alcohol to make chloroform CHCl 3 , hydrochloric acid HCl , and other compounds, such as dichloroacetate or chloroacetone. Ethanol and isopropyl alcohol occur in many disinfectants, including hand sanitizer. Some people may think mixing bleach and hand sanitizer boost disinfecting power, but chemicals in mixtures often react with one another to yield products with undesirable properties.

Usually, the mixture forms unintentionally, like from cleaning up an alcohol spill with bleach or by mixing cleaners. Chloroform is a dangerous chemical. Well, that 'substance' is called chloroform. But that is not what chloroform is originally made for. Actually, chloroform is used as an anesthetic to make a person completely unconscious during surgery. But chloroform is not always accessible. Chloroform is a dangerous chemical. Precaution and safety should be handled first, long before sitting down with everything ready to start mixing hazardous chemicals.

But again, safety first! Chloroform is still used today for a variety of purposes. You could also use chloroform to kill insects. Since chloroform is rarely accessible to purchase, we can make one at home. We can make use of household products to make chloroform, such as household bleach, acetone, and ice. Then get down to the real work by preparing the following equipment:. Please bear in mind not to use chloroform as a mere family science experiment.

Step 1. Step 2. The ratio for making chloroform needs to be 1 part acetone to 50 parts bleach. Step 4. Add the acetone and stir the mixture, or swirl it around without sloshing it out.

Step 5.