Cleaning with ammonia: what it cleans and what it ruins

Step by step

1. 1

   Use clear, plain household ammonia

   Choose clear household ammonia with no color or fragrance. Sudsy ammonia contains a little soap or detergent, which can leave residue in fabric or carpet.

   Why: Extension stain guides are written for plain ammonia, and dyes or perfume in the product can add a stain of their own.

2. 2

   Make sure no bleach is on the spot

   If you've already tried chlorine bleach or a bleach-based cleaner, rinse the area thoroughly with plain water before ammonia goes near it.

   Why: Bleach and ammonia react to release chloramine gases, even when one is only a residue.

3. 3

   Ventilate and put on gloves

   Open a window or run a fan, and wear waterproof gloves.

   Why: Ammonia is corrosive to skin and eyes, and the vapor irritates the nose, throat and lungs.

4. 4

   Dilute it for the job

   For carpet, mix 1 tablespoon of household ammonia in 1 cup of water. On wool or silk fabric, never use it full strength: dilute it with an equal amount of water.

   Why: Dilution keeps enough alkalinity to loosen the soil while limiting dye change and fiber damage.

5. 5

   Test on a hidden area

   Dab the solution on an inside seam or a carpet corner, wait a few minutes, and blot with a white cloth. Look for color on the cloth or a color change in the material.

   Why: Ammonia changes the color of some dyes. A test tells you before it happens in the middle of the item.

6. 6

   Blot it on, don't soak

   Apply with a white cloth and blot, working from the edge of the spot toward the center. On carpet, use just enough to dampen the fibers.

   Why: Blotting lifts loosened soil into the cloth. Flooding carpet pushes liquid into the backing and pad.

7. 7

   Rinse with plain water and blot dry

   Rinse the area with plain water and blot until no more moisture transfers. Wash washable items afterward.

   Why: Rinsing removes the alkali before it can keep acting on the dyes.

What household ammonia is and how it cleans

Household ammonia is ammonia gas dissolved in water, which forms ammonium hydroxide. University of Georgia Extension puts household strength at about 5 to 10% ammonia. It's a moderate alkali: it loosens greasy soil and some protein soil, and it neutralizes acids. Because the ammonia evaporates, it leaves little residue, which is why it has long been used on glass.

That alkalinity also explains its stain uses. Fresh perspiration can change the color of fabric, and ammonia can restore colors that acids have shifted. The same property is what makes it risky: alkalis change some dyes and damage protein fibers like wool and silk.

What ammonia is good for, with the ratios

• Fresh sweat discoloration: the Kentucky extension guide applies ammonia to fresh perspiration stains and white vinegar to old ones, then rinses. See sweat stains.
• Carpet spots: the Carpet and Rug Institute lists an ammonia solution of 1 tablespoon per 1 cup of water as a later step for blood, wine, cola, vomit, feces, latex paint, grease and nail polish, after a detergent solution and only after a color test.
• Glass: the ammonia evaporates and leaves little residue.
• Wool and silk, if you must: 1 part ammonia to 1 part water, tested first.

Ammonia is not a cure-all for odors. The ASPCA warns that cleaning pet urine with ammonia can bring a cat back to the same spot.

What ammonia damages, and what never to mix it with

• Some dyes change color. If that happens, rinse well and apply a few drops of white vinegar, which can restore the color.
• Wool and silk are protein fibers that alkalis attack. Use it diluted 1:1 or not at all, and keep it off wool carpet.
• Aluminum discolors, and the New Jersey Department of Health lists copper, brass and zinc as incompatible with ammonia.
• Pet-urine spots: urine itself contains ammonia, so the smell of an ammonia cleaner can draw pets back. An enzyme cleaner is the better tool for urine odor.

Never combine ammonia with chlorine bleach or any cleaner that contains it: together they release toxic chloramine gases. Mixing it with vinegar or another acid in a bottle simply neutralizes both, so the mix stops working, and concentrated ammonia reacts violently with acids. Full details are on which cleaning chemicals never to mix.

By situation

Fresh versus old sweat stains

Ammonia is for fresh perspiration discoloration. For older stains, the Kentucky guide switches to white vinegar. Rinse thoroughly between the two, since they cancel each other out.

Carpet

Use only the dilute 1 tablespoon per cup solution, and only after a plain detergent solution has been tried. Test in a closet first, blot rather than pour, then rinse with water and blot dry. Skip it on wool carpet.

Wool and silk clothing

Dilute ammonia with an equal amount of water, test on an inside seam, and rinse well. For anything valuable or dry-clean only, take it to a cleaner instead.

Pet urine

Ammonia can lift the stain on carpet but is a poor choice for the smell, because it can attract pets back to the spot. Never follow it with bleach: urine already contains ammonia compounds.

Colored fabrics

Always test first. If a color shifts, rinse with water and dab on a few drops of white vinegar to bring it back.

Aluminum, brass and copper

Don't clean these metals with ammonia. It can discolor aluminum and reacts with copper, brass and zinc. Use a mild dish soap solution instead.

What not to do

• Never mix ammonia with chlorine bleach or bleach-containing cleaners. The combination releases chloramine gases, which cause coughing, shortness of breath and chest pain.
• Don't use full-strength ammonia on wool or silk. These protein fibers are damaged by alkalis; dilute 1:1 and test, or avoid it.
• Don't clean pet urine with ammonia. Urine contains ammonia, and the smell can draw a pet back to the same spot.
• Don't use it on aluminum, copper or brass. It can discolor aluminum and is listed as incompatible with copper, brass and zinc.
• Don't pour it onto carpet. Excess liquid soaks the backing and pad, and the stronger the solution, the greater the risk of color change.

Other methods that work

White vinegar

For older sweat stains and for restoring colors that ammonia shifted, the extension guides use white vinegar.

Caution: Use it after rinsing, never mixed with ammonia in the same bottle.

Enzyme cleaner

For urine, vomit and other organic odors, an enzyme cleaner breaks down the residue instead of adding a smell that attracts pets.

Caution: Enzymes can damage wool and silk. Check the product label.

Dish soap solution

The Carpet and Rug Institute's first step for most carpet spots is a mild detergent solution. Ammonia comes later, only if that fails.

Caution: Rinse it out completely, or the residue attracts dirt.

Stain still there?

The color changed where I used ammonia

Rinse the area with water, then apply a few drops of white vinegar. The acid can restore a color that the alkali shifted.

The pet keeps going back to the same spot

The ammonia smell may be attracting it. Rinse the area with water and treat it with an enzyme cleaner to break down the urine residue.

My eyes and throat are burning

Leave the room and get to fresh air. If you used ammonia near bleach, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 for trouble breathing.

Safety

• Ammonia is corrosive: wear waterproof gloves and keep it away from your eyes.
• Ventilate the room; the vapor irritates the nose, throat and lungs.
• Never mix it with chlorine bleach, and rinse thoroughly before switching products.
• Keep it away from children and pets; it is poisonous if swallowed.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

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