'I made huge mistake trying to get flat deposit back and almost poisoned myself'

26 January 2024 , 10:05

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Emma had to go to A&E after smelling fumes in the property (Image: Jam Press)

When you're leaving a rented property, you'll do anything to try and get your deposit back - but one woman took it to extreme lengths and ended up almost poisoning herself.

Emma Welsh was preparing to move out of her Birmingham home when she accidentally made chlorine gas while scrubbing her radiator clean. She had desperately wanted her £1,000 deposit back but didn't want to fork out the over £200 cleaning bill, opting to do it herself.

But when the 30-year-old wiped down her radiator, she realised that she'd made a terrible mistake by mixing two common household products together - bleach and malt vinegar - to remove stubborn stains.

Emma was trying to clean her flat when she accidentally made chlorine gas (Jam Press)

She was using cotton pads to clean, and they turned bright orange. She was horrified by the pads, and after smelling fumes, she turned to the internet for help. "I Googled it on my phone, and that's when I realised I'd accidentally created chlorine gas," she revealed.

"I knew I'd f***ked up because I was starting to smell fumes and wondered why the colour had appeared. The whole thing was so ridiculous, as I was just about finished cleaning the flat and had opened a beer to relax. The advice was to get away from the gas as soon as possible."

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As reported by Healthline, when bleach and vinegar are mixed, it can create potentially lethal chlorine gas. Emma said: "I grabbed my cat, opened the balcony window to let some fresh air in, and told my friend, who found it hilarious but agreed I should call 111.

"At this point, my throat was burning, so I was glad I'd decided to be safe rather than sorry. The woman on the phone was really nice but concerned because chlorine gas can be so dangerous. I then got a callback and was advised to go to A&E."

Emma rushed to hospital (Jam Press)

She wanted to leave, but was told not to (Jam Press)

The unfortunate incident took place around 11pm, with Emma rushing to the hospital shortly after, arriving after midnight. When she realised that there was a six-hour wait to see a doctor, she attempted to leave but was told by the toxicologist that the risk was simply too great.

She explained: "I felt like the biggest idiot in the world while in A&E. Thankfully, I ended up being seen quite quickly and the staff consulted the toxicologist, who did an amazing job. When a doctor inspected my throat, he said it looked like I'd burned the top layer of skin off. After that, I was sent for a chest X-ray.

"It was a really long wait for the results to come back, and I was so tired by this point. It took about four hours for me to get the all-clear. To pass the time, I ended up chatting to other patients, most of whom said they also had no idea how dangerous bleach and vinegar can be when mixed.

"Someone actually said they mixed bleach and vinegar in a bucket to clean, which is a lot more dangerous than my accidental mixing. We all learned something that night."

Emma managed to get a few hours of sleep before the removal van turned up the next day, and after her ordeal, she also managed to get her deposit back. "The mark was still on the radiator when I finally got home, but thanks to a post on Mumsnet, I was able to get it out with nail polish remover", she said.

"The smell had gone and the flat was absolutely freezing, but I did the right thing by leaving the balcony door open. My cat was fine too - she just slept on the bed with the door shut while I was gone.

"In the end, I did get my deposit back, bar a minor deduction for some leftover cat hair. I'm hoping that by sharing this with a wider audience other people might learn from my stupidity. You honestly wouldn't think that two common products that most people use without thinking could be so dangerous."

Dr Hamdan Abdullah Hamed, MBChB, a dermatologist, shared that if you're exposed to chlorine gas, you may feel "itchiness or a burning sensation, followed by redness, blistering and peeling skin." If you're further exposed, you could see "dryness and scabbing below the initial layers of skin."

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He recommended that people "move out of the area to reduce exposure and at the very least use water or cold milk to decrease the immediate effects of the chemical burns."

Danielle Kate Wroe