Ammonia solution (CAS 1336-21-6)

Ammonia solution, also known as ammonia water, ammonium hydroxide, ammoniacal liquor, ammonia liquor, aqua ammonia, aqueous ammonia, or (inaccurately) ammonia, is a solution of ammonia in water. It can be denoted by the symbols NH3(aq). Although the name ammonium hydroxide suggests an alkali with composition [NH4+][OH−], it is actually impossible to isolate samples of NH4OH. The ions NH4+ and OH− do not account for a significant fraction of the total amount of ammonia except in extremely dilute solutions.

Diluted (1–3%) ammonia is also an ingredient of numerous cleaning agents, including many window cleaning formulas. Because aqueous ammonia is a gas dissolved in water, as the water evaporates from a window, the gas evaporates also, leaving the window streak-free.

In addition to use as an ingredient in cleansers with other cleansing ingredients, ammonia in water is also sold as a cleaning agent by itself, usually labeled as simply “ammonia”. It may be sold plain, lemon-scented (and typically colored yellow), or pine-scented (green). Commonly available ammonia with soap added is known as “cloudy ammonia”.