Where does cleaning ammonia come from and is it harmful to human skin?

Question

I have a cleaning business and due to the exorbitantly priced cleaning products, I have switched, almost completely, to cleaning ammonia. It is cheap and works wonders when diluted with a lot of water. Of course, I never mix it with other chemicals. I was just wondering what it comes from (saying that in the search I did online, people were trying to tell me that it was from cat pee) and if it is harmful to bare skin. I have noticed that since my starting to use it, the skin on my hands has become really soft and healthy. Why is that?

Answer 1

Ammonia should be used with rubber gloves, since it's a chemical (NH3, or, to be technically precise, NH4OH).  Since it's very dilute, it should be okay, but I'd use gloves anyway to be on the safe side.  

I had to run a test in our lab with ammonia, and our company was cheap and bought recycled rubber gloves, which arent as sturdy.  On 2 different occasions I grabbed a pair that had a hole in the finger without knowing it, and after a while using it, my finger HURT...ached like someone smashed it with a hammer. I expect that was a chemical burn--the ammonia got thru the hole in the glove, and basically my finger took a bath in it.  I couldnt feel the wetness because not only do my fingers sweat inside the gloves, but the ammonia evaporates quickly and numbs the fingers.  It took a couple of days to stop hurting.

The softness on your hands may be the ammonia breaking down the outer, more callused layer of skin.

Ammonia is IN cat urine, it's not MADE of cat urine.