The cleaning aisle in the Albert Heijn is a wall of bright bottles covered in Dutch warnings and little red diamonds. Most are harmless with a glance at the label, but two or three words, and one mixing rule, genuinely matter for your lungs. Here is what to read before you spray.
The three words that matter most
Chloor (chlorine), bleek (bleach, usually chlorine-based), and ammoniak (ammonia) are the household chemicals worth recognising on sight. Bleach and chlorine show up in toilet and bathroom cleaners; ammonia hides in some glass and all-purpose sprays. Each is an irritant on its own. The real danger is combining them: as De Huishoudcoach warns, mixing a bleek/chloor product with an ammoniak product releases chloramine gas that attacks the eyes and lungs and can be seriously harmful.
The hazard symbols, decoded
The red-bordered diamond pictograms are EU-standard, so they mean the same on every bottle. The NVWA explains each symbol and the government’s page on hazardous-substance labels sets out the rules.
| Symbol | Dutch | Means |
|---|---|---|
| Exclamation mark | Irriterend / schadelijk | Irritant / harmful |
| Corroded hand and surface | Bijtend | Corrosive (burns skin, eyes) |
| Flame | Ontvlambaar | Flammable |
| Skull | Giftig | Toxic |
| Health-hazard figure | Gezondheidsgevaar | Longer-term health risk |
The label always names the exact risk in H-zinnen (H-sentences, the hazards) and the precautions in P-zinnen (P-sentences). Buiten bereik van kinderen houden (keep out of reach of children) appears on almost everything.
The one rule to never break
Do not mix. Specifically, never combine bleek or chloor with ammoniak, and never combine bleach with an acid such as a limescale remover (azijn = vinegar, zuur = acid). When unsure, use one product at a time and open a window (goed ventileren).
This is not theoretical. The most common trap is the bathroom: a chlorine-based toilet cleaner (look for chloor or bleek on the bottle) and an ammonia-based glass spray used back to back in a small, closed room can leave enough fumes to make you cough. The label words gevaar (danger) and waarschuwing (warning) tell you how serious the product is, gevaar being the stronger of the two. Store the strong ones high and apart, keep their caps tight, and never decant them into an unlabelled bottle where the next person cannot read the warning.
Reading the rest of the label
Niet mengen met (do not mix with), vermijd contact met de ogen (avoid eye contact), bij inademing (if inhaled), spoelen met water (rinse with water), draag handschoenen (wear gloves), goed ventileren (ventilate well). This supermarket-label Dutch is the same skill you use to decode vegetarian and diet items at Albert Heijn, and reading warnings carefully is the same instinct behind telling a Dutch waiter about a food allergy and cross-contamination. If you have household help, share the mixing rule: it pairs directly with hiring and paying a cleaner and the kit a window cleaner brings.
The bottom line
In the cleaning aisle, recognise chloor, bleek, and ammoniak, read the red-diamond symbols for bijtend and irriterend, and follow the one unbreakable rule: never mix bleach or chlorine with ammonia or acid. One product, a window open, gloves on, and the most dangerous thing under your sink stays safe.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that teaches the practical Dutch of supermarket and household labels, the warning words and hazard terms, by real situation, as short five-minute lessons, so you can read a cleaning-product label in the Albert Heijn and know exactly what is safe to use and what must never be mixed.
Frequently asked questions
What do chloor, bleek, and ammoniak mean on Dutch cleaning products?
Chloor is chlorine and bleek is bleach (often chlorine-based); both are common in toilet and bathroom cleaners. Ammoniak is ammonia, found in some glass and all-purpose cleaners. All three are irritants, and mixing a bleach (chloor) product with an ammonia product releases toxic chloramine gas, so you read the label to keep them apart.
What do the hazard symbols on Dutch cleaning products mean?
The diamond-shaped red-bordered pictograms follow EU rules. The exclamation mark means irritant (irriterend), the corroded-hand symbol means corrosive (bijtend), the flame means flammable (ontvlambaar), and a health-hazard figure flags longer-term danger. The label spells out the specific risk in H-sentences (hazards) and the precautions in P-sentences.
Which cleaning products should never be mixed?
Never mix a bleach or chlorine product (bleek, chloor) with an ammonia product (ammoniak), or with an acid like a limescale remover (azijn or zuur). These combinations release chlorine or chloramine gas that irritates the lungs and can be dangerous. When in doubt, use one product at a time and ventilate.
What is the best app to learn Dutch for reading product labels?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it teaches the practical Dutch of supermarket and household labels, the warning words and hazard terms, by real situation in short daily lessons, so you can read a cleaning-product label in the Albert Heijn and know what is safe to use and mix.
