Bleach Prices the Next victim of "Inflation"?

[bradfordwhite]

I went to buy a large bottle of bleach today at Dollartree,checked two stores and found nothing.
No large bottles, no scented, no small bottles of Clorox, nothing.  Very suspicious.

There were empty shelves where the bleach is <span style="text-decoration: underline;">supposed to be</span> but in there spot, in addition to being empty, is just random merch, bleach dust, and a few bits of mouse excrement.

Asked the store people at both stores where the bleach was and they were like "we just haven't got our shipment in yet".

Stopped at a Big Lots, not that I ever shop there, but thought I'd take a look as I haven't been in a store like that for several years.  Dear LORD- there were few customers,  the floors were a mess.  shipping labels all over the floor, mismatched tiles, and stuff was in disarray.  It didn't look like it had been cleaned in years.  Anyway found the clorox bleach and just a small bottle they had priced at $3.69.  Couldn't wait to get out of there.

 

Went to Walmart.  They had the larger store brand bottle of bleach for like $6.49, another Mexican labeled thing for $6.19, and the Clorox was around $8

 

 

 

[good-shepherd]

Stopped at a Big Lots

Big Lots in my area have off brand bleach for $2.19 a gallon, (price had been $2 for several years until just recently).

 

[jamiel]

There's bleach, and there's bleach. Without an EPA certification, you don't really know what concentration is being offered (it's usually on the outer box/crate). The disinfecting bleach (of whatever concentration or brand) is the full strength and isn't scented or thickened. I did notice a weird price discrepancy--Cloralen (Mexican bleach) was $1.49/quart on sale for $1.29/quart at Vons in Palm Springs...at Safeway in rural eastern Arizona the same bottle was $2.99. Maaaaaybe if the Cloralen plant is in Tijuana and they're trucking it from Tijuana to Phoenix to the store...

 

[tomturbomatic]

"Splashless" Bleach goes flat quickly. The price for disinfecting bleach is about on par. Costco sells Clorox "Performance Bleach" which is 7.55% Sodium Hypochlorite and says it kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. A carton of (3) 3.78 quart jugs is $18 and change. Decades ago, Clorox bleach was 4.95% Sodium Hypochlorite as were the store brands and the jugs were gallons. I don't know why disinfecting bleach has gotten stronger. Maybe it's because people are using it in cold water.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Stopped at another Dollartree in Santa Rosa= NOTHING.
Just completely empty spots in the shelving surrounded by fully stocked other laundry products.
Not even so much as an empty wrapper from a candy bar somebody ate when shopping and no mouse excrement.
Something suspicious is going on, I know it.
I googled this hot mess. I'm not the only one who's noticed.

 

[combo52]

Bleach Shortage ?

May have to due with all the rain on the west coast with people trying to clean up and kill mold etc.

 

Here no shortage, Aldi bleach 7.50 %,  81 ounces $2.79 two weeks ago.

 

John 

 

[DADoES]

 
Local WM via online shows eleven choices in stock.  Local grocery chain eighteen choices.

 

[qsd-dan]

If one has a front loader with a heater that goes up to at least 150F, consider using a quality oxygen bleach for better results that doesn't corrode the washer internals nor affect the environment.

 

[combo52]

Liquid chlorine bleach.

Used in washing machines properly does not cause corrosion and greatly extends the life of the machine by killing, mold and buildup that can ruin seals, etc..

Using electric heaters in the machine is far harder on the machines wiring and circuit boards etc. than using a quarter cup of chlorine bleach in a front load washer.

John.

 

[gyrafoam]

The local Sam's here has a three gallon pack for just under $19.00! WTF?
I really feel my age when I recall that as a youngster, a brown glass gallon of Clorox was 25 cents.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Stopped at a 4th store in the area= nothing
but worn paint spots where the bottles used to occupy the bottom two shelves.

I asked a young woman putting stuff on shelves and she said "we're all out. We've ordered it but we haven't been getting it in lately."

Ah-huh. Something's going on.

YES, I know bleach is available at other stores.

Why is there NONE at Dollartree? I mean they used to have generic label gallon in several scents, then they'd have the skinny bottle of Clorox. All of it was good in my experience.

I NEED my Dollartree bleach!

Another thing I've noticed at the likes of Walmart is they only have two sizes: the standard size and the gallons. I haven't seen the thin bottle.
I should check some other stores this week.

 

[bradfordwhite]

#9

3 for $19 isn't much of a deal worth paying an annual fee for.

This is the
Clorox one could buy at DT. It's gone mia.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I buy far more than bleach at Costco, but I thank God I do not have to buy those flatbeds of merchandise that people with their own businesses buy.

 

[sudsmaster]

I rarely if ever use chlorine bleach. I probably have a gallon jug of it in the patio kitchen or patio bathroom or the main kitchen under the sink that's at least 10 years old. I *think* I used some recently, like in the past 2 months, to remove some nasty stains from the kitchen sink. Didn't take much, just had to let it sit for 10-20 minutes.

 

Yeah, I know, don't use abrasive cleanser on porcelain coated sinks. But someone beat me to it here. Oh well.

 

[DADoES]

 
Chlorine bleach strength is said to deteriorate 20% per year beginning 6 months after the production date.

 

[givemehotwater]

Literally

Picked up a Bottle of Great Value (Wal-Mart) Brand, 81oz 7.5% Sodium Hypochlorite for $4.24. This was in Orange County, CA. I wanted Chlorine Bleach to wash something, and plan on leaving the bottle at families home after I leave.

They also had Cloralan Bleach, 121oz for about a $1 more. Cloralan is a good brand.

As are many of the store brands. Great Value, Target, RiteAid, Vons, Ralphs, etc, etc are all made by the KIK Company which also makes some private-label products for Clorox. It's great quality bleach and filtered just like Clorox. Only downside is its lack of a splash guard spout.

@qsd-dan, Chlorine Bleach breaks down freely into Water & Salt after usage. It doesn't affect the environment.

 

[givemehotwater]

By the way

The LA's Totally Awesome Bleach from the Dollar Tree... is mostly Water. I think it's less than 3% Sodium Hypochlorite. It may be even less.

On the bright side, it does stay stable longer and it is far less likely to cause damage to clothes when being added into the machine.

One thing that I tell people though is, you should always dilute bleach with water before adding it to the wash. I personally use 3/4 of a cup, and I dilute it with water using a 4-cup measuring cup, all the way to the top. This yields great results for me.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Yes, bleach is strongest when it's newest. Usually after 30 days it's lost quite a bit of strength.
It's true that most cleaners (laundry detergent, shampoo, etc.) lose their strength after about 6 months.

It's always kind of funny when you see these people who are "couponers" and pride themselves on stockpiling things like detergents and other such things that deteriorate. They really end up costing themselves money. I mean it's one thing to stock pile kleenex, toilet tissue, and plastic bags; but things that expire are a waste of money to stock pile.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Stopped by one of the first Dollartrees today to get some things. No bleach.
Plus they rearranged the laundry by putting it together with the dish soaps. It seems like now that there are some other products missing that they used to offer.
I know the small bottle of Tide detergent is missing.

Where the bleach and laundry detergent WAS, all they did is spread some laundry baskets and similar plastic containers out to try and fill those shelves.

ah-HUH. Asked the guy who's been working there for several months and was working the register, what was going on with bleach. He was like sometimes they'd get it in and half the time they don't so it quickly sells out.