Is mixing ammonia and bleach spray in the same parcel of air considerably dangerous to health? I've read a few articles advising not to mix bleach and ammonia in the same room because it makes chloramine gas. But my boyfriend and I are having an argument - he thinks that since those articles don't specifically say that mixing them in the same room (in our case, our small, poorly-ventilated bathroom) is bad, the only situation in which we shouldn't do this is spraying them directly on the same surface.

I don't see any reason why the chemical reactions producing chloramine gas wouldn't occur if they're mixing in the same room, from our bleach cleaner and glass cleaner spray bottles, though they would be less concentrated. However, he would only trust an answer from a chemistry expert. Please advise!
This information is only for academic and educational purpose only. Please never ever try to mix ammonia and bleach.

Mixing bleach and ammonia is extremely dangerous, since many toxic vapors (nitrogen-chlorine species) will be produced. The primary toxic chemical formed by the reaction is chloramine vapor and hydrazine. (very, very toxic).

The following is the list of chemical species produced by the reaction:


$\ce{NH3}$ = ammonia
$\ce{HCl}$ = hydrochloric acid
$\ce{NaOCl}$ = sodium hypochlorite
$\ce{Cl2}$ = chlorine gas
$\ce{NH2Cl}$ = chloramine
$\ce{N2H4}$ = hydrazine
$\ce{NaCl}$ = sodium chloride or salt (non-toxic)
$\ce{H2O}$ = water (non-toxic)


The bleach decomposes to form hydrochloric acid:

$$\ce{NaOCl → NaOH + HOCl}$$

$$\ce{HOCl → HCl + [O]}$$

And then the ammonia and chlorine gas react to form chloramine, which is released as a vapor:

$$\ce{NaOCl + 2HCl → Cl2 + NaCl + H2O}$$

$$\ce{2NH3 + Cl2 → 2NH2Cl}$$

If ammonia is present in excess, toxic and potentially explosive liquid hydrazine may be formed.

$$\ce{2NH3 + NaOCl → N2H4 + NaCl + H2O}$$

References:


http://chemistry.about.com/od/toxicchemicals/a/Mixing-Bleach-And-Ammonia.htm
http://home.onehowto.com/article/what-happens-when-you-mix-bleach-and-ammonia-7512.html