- What it can be used for
- Adds scent and keeps the pH steady (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
- CAS number
- 7664-41-7
Why it’s flagged
Allowed in EU cosmetics only with limits.
- Annex III entry 4; max 6% (as NH3); required warning: Above 2%: Contains ammonia. Source: EU Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III (restricted)
Annex III (restricted substances) or Annex V (preservatives) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation sets maximum amounts, allowed product types or required warnings.
What the research says
- Never mix bleach with ammonia or acidic cleaners: it makes toxic chloramine or chlorine gas. Strong evidence. Salonen 2024
- Children exposed to household chemical/cleaning products before birth or in their first year wheeze more often, now replicated in three independent prospective birth cohorts. In the Canadian CHILD cohort (n=2,022), frequent use in early infancy was linked to higher odds of recurrent wheeze (adjusted OR 1.35) and asthma diagnosis (adjusted OR 1.37) by age 3, but not isolated skin-prick allergy (adjusted OR 1.14, ns) — though wheeze combined with allergy was itself raised (adjusted OR 1.49). In the Czech ELSPAC-CZ cohort (n=3,411), each 1-SD increase in an 18-product household chemical exposure score at 6 months raised the odds of intermediate-onset transient, intermediate-onset persistent and early-onset persistent wheeze phenotypes through age 5 (adjusted OR 1.23-1.36), and those persistent phenotypes carried 5-8x higher odds of doctor-diagnosed asthma at age 7 (pediatrician records, not self-report). In the pooled Spanish INMA cohorts (n=2,292), prenatal (third-trimester) use of cleaning sprays raised the odds of both wheezing (OR 1.37) and lower respiratory tract infection (OR 1.29) in the first year of life, with solvents raising wheezing odds (OR 1.30) and air fresheners raising LRTI odds (OR 1.29); bleach, ammonia and non-spray cleaners showed no association. Strong evidence. Salonen 2024
- Never mix bleach with ammonia or acidic cleaners: 13 published poisoning reports, including one death, came from mixing products. Strong evidence. Nazaroff & Weschler 2004
Each finding shows its evidence grade. See every graded fact or how we grade.
What this page can’t tell you
These lists describe what a substance can do, its hazard. The risk from one product depends on how much is in it and how you use it, and the label doesn’t say how much.
Not being on a list doesn’t make an ingredient safe. It may never have been assessed.
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Official lists checked September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.