This is the danger of using bleach to clean dog urine

Bleach contains chemical substances that can be hazardous to your health, therefore you shouldn't use it to remove dog urine or urine from any other pet.

This is the danger of using bleach to clean dog urine
The potential hazards that come with cleaning dog urine with bleach. Photo by Karsten Winegeart / Unsplash

Hundreds of families around the world have the habit of cleaning up dog waste, especially urine, with bleach. However, this can be bad for the health of both people and dogs.

The reason is that commercial cleaning bleach is made up of chemical compounds that can make toxic gases when it comes into contact with urine or dog poop. Because of this, it is best to limit its use and avoid coming into direct contact with it.

Specifically, the chemical compound that causes this is sodium hypochlorite, which is more commonly known as bleach. Bleach is a corrosive substance that should be diluted with water, but when it comes in contact with dog urine or poop, it can make harmful gases.

If dog urine needs to be cleaned, why not use bleach?

Expert websites say that dog urine may have small amounts of ammonium, which, when mixed with sodium hypochlorite, makes chloramine, which is usually made when disinfectants are mixed and can irritate the eyes, skin, and lungs.

Because of this, you mustn't use chlorine to clean up after your pet. In this case, it's best to clean the area with soap and water and then give a small amount of chlorine diluted in water once the residue is gone.

This way, you won't let two chemicals that could produce small amounts of toxic gases come into contact with each other. You can keep cleaning as usual. Also, it's important to remember that commercial bleach's "instructions for use" say that it shouldn't be mixed with any other cleaning product to avoid having the same effect.

How to take care of your pet?

Here are three recommendations to maintain your health and that of your pet, among which the following three stand out:

Start the vaccination schedule from the age of two months with a veterinarian.
Deworming should be done every six months and at the same time as other pets living in the same space.
The sterilization of the dog is a correct prevention of diseases, especially if there are hereditary diseases.