Bleach

[yogitunes]

We have had many debates on detergents....but what about Bleach.....

is it better to buy namebrand....Clorox?

or generic?

they all have the same ingredient, anywhere from 4 to 5.5 percent, and from 3/4c to 1 cup usage, but does one do better than the other?

I usually buy bleach from Aldi for 1.00......and I bought Clorox, outside of the available scents, should I pay the higher price for it?

what kind of results are you guys getting?

one advantage of Clorox.com, is they have a formula for instance, a few drops to a gallon of water, let set for 30 minutes, and its drinkable in the case of a natural disaster, where water would be questionable, it must be the Regular formula, no scents......just helpful should something ever happen

 

[dj-gabriele]

Well, to make water drinkable here one uses the chlorine tablets or "Amuchina" a chlorine based disinfectant that is notified to our ministry of health.

As for cleaning power, any household bleach is the same to me, only the smell varies in more or less nasty as the concentration of home solutions is virtually the same for all brands.

I use bleach only to clean the toilet bowl once in a while as the stench is terrible! Lately I used it once in the washing machine for the kitchen rags as they were awfully dirty and I did run out of regular oxygen bleach. I had to run an additional rinse to get the smell to an acceptable level! :S

 

[Pingmeep]

I really am not a fan of liquid chlorine bleach in the washer since going with HE washers.

Some of the name brands do come in thicher formulas and I often get asked by shorter people in the supermarket to reach up and get them some. Surprisingly most of them do not have HE machines they just like that it "pours better."

In personal tests the so called fiber guard formulas do not seem that much better than regular versions. And the generic store brands have worked just as well as name brand Corox and Javex.

Wonder what others thoughts are on LCB.

Since you offered your water purification tip I present my formula for getting a smokers white but yellowed appliances white again. From a super at an appartment complex that has to rent to chain smokers.

Combine
8 cups of water
1/2 cup chlorine bleach
1/2 cup baking soda
2 table spoons borax
Test in a hidden spot especially if it's precious.
Wash quickly and rinse thoroughly.
Dry.

 

[maytagbear]

Not all chlorine bleaches

are accepted by the EPA as disinfectants. A person has to read the label carefully, if they want to use the bleach as a disinfectant.

I just buy regular Clorox.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[sudsman]

Not all chlorine bleaches

are accepted by the EPA as disinfectants.  This is VERY true .  There is a difference in bleaches.  some of the lower cost are made with just regular water and have a shorter shelf life.  Clorox is made with distilled water and has a longer shelf life. Also some are made in different parts of the country and shipped around to the stores  IE  Target bleach.  and so it has a shorter shelf life and will loose some of its bleaching power.  Again Clorox is made in 5 different factorys across the us so it is not sent as far thus it is "fresher"  As to EPA  a bleach must hold its within  .05% of its labeled %   Clorox from Sams is 6% and is sold for not only laundry but wearwashing disinfecting.  Many of the commerical bleaches are 10 and 12 % and also EPA registered. Also the time of the year you buy bleach can effect it. In summer the cheaper bleaches can be as low as 2 or 3 % in excess heat any bleach will lose some % of chlorine.  That is why I really like Dry Bleach as is does not loose chlorine % nearly as qucikly as does the liquid bleaches.  Also will not damage colors as quickly as lcb will.   I do use some lcb in the home machines and rewash loads but dry bleach rinses better and does a better job with out bleach carryover for us.. I use about 200 lbs of dry bleach per  week ,  2  to 3 oz on 50 lb load  6 to 8 on the  150 s   When we do use in in the home washers only a teaspoon is needed, Ecolab is a very reasonable price  15% bleach with buying discount is cost less than 1.oo pr lb. and  it is a fairly light product so   a  2 oz scoop  by weight is only about 1 oz.

 

[neptunebob]

Is the Clorox from Sams stronger than what you buy at a supermarket? I notice it smells rather strong. I guess you don't have to use as much. I notice Clorox even from the market is stronger than supermarket brands too. Oh, and Clorox comes in different scents too.

 

[Pingmeep]

Well you convinced me Sudsman.
I'll convert to powdered chlorine bleach. Don't know why I never though of it before.
I've put up with buying tiny bottles for years because of the shelf life issue.

 

[3beltwesty]

EX clone maker employee told me this ons ago: Chlorox versus

If the bleach is fresh and one is doing disinfectant type stuff; both work usually very well

IF one is using the stuff for WHITE clothes; the CLONE/ACME/Roadrunner/non name brand stuff can use "cheaper water" ie more rust and particles.

Thus if one is cleaning mold off the lawnmower or jungle jim; clean the toilet bowl the cheap stuff if fresh works just as well.

IF one is bleaching white clothes the cheap stuff *may or may not be as white* ; the water may or may not have *more rust and crud as the name brand* and the rust adds a touch of off color with a lessor blend.

 

[jerrod6]

Not all of the bleach named Clorox is acceptable for disinfecting.  The Clorox web site says that only the regular meets this criteria. The rest of their formulas do not.

 

I generally don't use chlorine bleach in the house or laundry.  Only use Oxygen bleach.

 

 

 

[frigilux]

I used to buy generic/store brands of liquid chlorine bleach, but now I use only regular Clorox, which is labeled as a disinfectant. The Clorox jugs are easier/neater to pour from, as well.

Since I use LCB in 3-4 loads per week, I never have to worry about it hanging around the shelf past its expiration date.

 

[circlew]

Checked my bottle of Clorox, and it's 6.15% sodium hypochlorite. It's the "Commercial Solutions" version; bought at either GFS or Lowes. EPA registered as a disinfectant.

 

[franksdad]

Nothing beats a Clorox white

So I use Clorox. Mama always said stay away from fake bleaches and would not use anything but Clorox. For sensitivity issues I use the milder gentle form in the squareish shaped bottle for my "Y" fronts and other unmentionables. I use lemon scented Clorox on the towels. I have used the Publix brand bleach in lemon and lavender scents and was pleased with the results. I've been well pleased with Publix brands. I bought some off brand at Sav-A-Lot for 99 cents and it didn't even smell like chlorine bleach. Clorox does make a thicker chlorine bleach for HE machines. I like it also.

 

[mrb627]

Commercial Clorox

Is the commercial grade Clorox still safe to use in the laundry?  For some reason, I thought it wasn't meant for laundry purposes.  I know there is one labeled outdoor use.

View attachment mrb627++2-22-2011-10-42-31.jpg

 

[3beltwesty]

Bleach in the usa use to be less than 6.15% sodium hypochlorite a few years back. It was in the 5.XX percent range.

"Shelf space costs" pressure from Kroger; Sears, Kmart, Walmart etc had the concentration go up.

After Katrina experts descended from the consulting sky and preached one cannot use Bleach to remove mold like we did after Camille. Some of us said this was BS and just used the Bleach we could get a hold of; ie old Acme bleach from the 1980's that cost 45 cents; to that new Commercial Solution Clorox EPA stuff for 5 bucks a gallon. All that 100 to 200 bucks per gallon magical brew(s) the experts used the year before with Hurricane IVAN was not available; already taken off the market due much was scamish.

Thus with all the toxic black mold scares; the insurance companies added mold exclusions. To get a building checked and cleaned for some things; one has to get the mold guy to do cleanup and his brew is only available if one is in the mold guy click group. Thus one has the big buck thing of some folks and buildings paying thousands to tens of thousands to clean a tiny area. ie folks making 5K to 10K per week. Their offical dogma is bleach is useless; and only their Hogwarts brew works. With the uncertain nature of cleanup; and the location being ground zero for lawsuits, many buildings were torn down.

 

[3beltwesty]

Some well paid experts say bleach is totally useless

Post Katrina the click group mold experts were on local TV preaching folks NOT to use bleach in a very serious way. ie like saying not to place gasoline on a bonfire.

Here I used both Bleach and ProForce cleaner from Sams club; and ignored the canned dogma. Ie I threw out; washed stuff; wiped things with bleach; placed them in the sun, dried out the flooded house with dehumidifiers.

There are some sheetrock walls that I did not even replace the lower 4 feet even. I just washed them down with the garden hose and wiped with bleach. ie ignoring the 10K per week consultants dogma.

Gobs of folks did nothing for awhile and their whole place had to have everything ripped out. ie the canned dogma that bleach is "useless" or "makes it worse" got believe by the Lemings. Ie they waited and their place turned into a toxic mess.

There is some stuff that is bleach resistant, That Proforce stuff totally removed the stuff I found that was stubborn with bleach.

 

[joe_in_philly]

I just use regular Clorox bleach with the blue label. As others mentioned, the other scented versions you often see in the detergent isle are not certified for disinfecting.

Just last night I was trying to figure out if I could store bleach in a coffee-mate bottle. The small coffee-mate bottle and flip, liquid tight lid would be perfect for dispensing the little bit of bleach I need in my washer's dispenser. I have been buying the smallest bleach bottles I can find and refilling them, but it is not easy to pour a new full bottle, and after a while the caps crack and no-longer seal. While the coffee-mate bottle is thicker and sturdier than a water bottle, it is type 1 plastic. The clorox bottle is type 2 plastic.

One website I found listed the qualities of the different type of plastics, and bleach was not listed as having a detrimental effect on type 1, it was listed for type 2!

I did end up pouring some bleach in the coffee-mate bottle as an experiment, and then placing the bottle a glass container in the event it ends of leaking. But if anyone has any other thoughts on this, I would be happy to hear them.

 

[jamiel]

good information through this thread...generally only plain (unscented, unadulterated) chlorine bleach is certified...Clorox blue label and most top-level supermarket house brands of unscented bleach are certified to kill germs...scented and lower-level/generic house brands aren't. The label will tell you from which plant they come. Chlorine bleach is expensive to ship (although lord knows what people pay for water these days)...so the economic radius of a bleach factory is pretty small. I thought Clorox had more like 15 plants nationwide. There was an interesting Federal Trade Commission case where P&G tried to buy Clorox in the late 50s/early 60s and P&G was ultimately denied the merger...the monopoly power of P&G in the laundry room was too tough to overcome (basically the FTC said if P&G wants in the chlorine bleach business they either need to build the business from scratch or buy local companies...clorox was the only national brand. The case is interesting to read, with local market shares (Purex tried to become a national brand with Purex Super Bleach...6% when Clorox etc was only 5.25% at the same price).

 

[3beltwesty]

Clorox blue label epa marking

Here in ms a 1 year old blu label jug is 3 quarts and 6 percent. It is marked kills 99.9 percent of germs. Patented whites technology. Standard of he machines. On a vertical section it is marked epa est no 5813- then the suffix for the state. Ie this jug here has ca2 ca3 ca4 for california. Fl1. Ga1 for florida and georgia. It also has. Il1 illnois md1 maryland. Mo1 missouri. Oh1. Ohio. Pr1 port rico :_). Tx1. For texas. This jug is from walmart in miss. Not sure if that epa no is for the jugs hazzard or its cleanup ability. Will have to do some research.

 

[yogitunes]

Joe

What about an empty bottle from SoftScrub w/bleach, holds about 3 cups of bleach, tight seal pop top, for me it makes using bleach around the kitchin sink and filling the dispenser easier to control......just make sure to re-label the bottle...