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Toxic Side Effects of Muriatic Acid

What are the side affects of using Muric acid mixed with bleach and tide.

Jason [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Brookville, Pennsylvania
2003

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2003

I've never heard of 'muric acid', but from some other posts here I have come to the conclusion that it is probably a corruption of muriatic acid [affil links].

Certainly, one of the main effects is evolution of large amounts of toxic -- and even deadly -- chlorine gas.

Those warnings on the bleach bottle are there are a reason. Mixing acid with bleach is horribly dangerous!

Who advised you to ignore the warnings and just go right ahead and mix muriatic acid with bleach -- your worst enemy?!

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Jason, I'm not a chemist ... but if you want to injure yourself, go ahead and mix that acid with the bleach. Yucks! Incidentally, it ain't MURIC ... it's called either muriatic acid or HCl (Hydrochloric) acid ... and there's no difference! You should get an immediate heavy fizzing acid of aerosols containing, I believe, chlorine. Not for breathing. Please don't do it .... and surely a question like this could have been answered faster and better by your chemistry teacher, eh?

Freeman Newton [deceased]
R.I.P. old friend (It is our sad duty to
advise that Freeman passed away 4/21/12)
2003

Jason,

I am sorry, but that is the equivalent of asking how to make a bomb with hydraulic fluid. That put a friend of mine's son in the hospital. By muric acid, I think that you mean muriatic acid which is hydrochloric or pool acid. One of the things that happens is it can kill you -- quite dead in a rather short period of time. One very nasty possibility is an -OCl formed that is rather close to phosgene, a war gas.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2003

I mixed the two without knowing any better, I was trying to clean a basement floor of cat pee, I think I have gotten all of the gas out of the house. Wow, I will never do that again, wish I had known not to. Are there any long term health effects, did I ruin my lungs?

Jocko Johnson
- Cincinnati Ohio
May 9, 2009

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May 15, 2009

Hi, Jocko. You apparently burned your lungs, which is obviously not a good thing. I strongly doubt that the damage is permanent, but this is really a question for your physician to answer after an examination, which might include an X-ray or cat scan or pulmonary function test (I'm not trying to imply which tests are appropriate). Only your doctor can determine what, if anything, should be done. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey