Chlorine Bleach

[mrboilwash]

Love it or hate it and what do you use it for?

I don`t use it all the time for this kind of job but I absolutely love the stuff when I think it`s time to spring clean the bathroom tiles.
I pour some into a bucket of water, clean the surfaces with a sponge and then I use a dry cloth instead of rinsing.

Another one is my old dishwasher. It had an unpleasant rancid smell which was pretty resistant to high temperature cycles, cleaning the filters, dishwasher cleaners and so on.
I suppose I had a serious grease build up in the air gap, which is kind of surprising to me because I usually don`t wash super dirty dishes without some kind of pretreating first, but there are always exceptions even to my own rules.
2 cups of bleach did the trick, the smell is gone and so far no damage to the DW.
I`m so happy I tried this and it worked out.

I don`t use it for laundry because it`s generally not a part of local laundry habits and I think boil washing is way cheaper as it doesn`t wear out fabrics as fast as bleach.

 

[joeekaitis]

 

My weekly load of white cotton/poly towels.

Hot wash, extra rinse in the Frigidaire Affinity front-loader.

 

[washerguy02]

My views

I do like using chlorine bleach when cleaning especially the bathrooms and bath tubs and around the toilets as well as bleaching whites but when I use it at times I end up getting bleach spots and discolouration due to bleach spots on my clothes which is a bit scary. I think I need to be careful without resorting to having to wear gloves

Janak

 

[appnut]

Occasional use around the house. I won't use it in laundry for the same reason(s) cited by Stefan. . I prefer using Tide w/bleach alternative powder and water temps of 156-164F.

 

[richnz]

Only use it to kill a smell

coming from a bathroom drain that drains slowly.

Never use it on laundry.

 

[qsd-dan]

Chlorine Bleach?

 

[launderess]

Never touch the stuff.

 

[supersuds]

Very useful for removing the “eggy” smell from dishes on the rare occasions I make scrambled eggs, so I have a small amount of chlorine bleach-containing dishwasher detergent for the purpose.

It’s rarely necessary in laundry, with the existence of modern Tide Plus Bleach powder. However, inspired by Launderess, I’ve recently bought some vintage made in USA sheets, and some of the white ones were a bit yellowed, despite being new in the package. Half a cup of Clorox made them look like new!

 

[angus]

Wouldn't be without it. Even though I have my water heater set to 140 F and use either Tide with Bleach Powder, US Persil liquid (stain fighter) or some German Persil powder, I will generally bleach anything white -golf shirts, underwear, bath towels, kitchen towels, face cloths, etc... I haven't noticed undue fabric damage as I dose carefully and rinse twice. If I ever make the transition to a front loader with a heater, I might revisit that process...
Also I use it for bathrooms, disinfecting cutting boards, dishes/utensils (especially where raw poultry or egg is involved) and other general cleaning chores ,including the annual springtime mopping of my wooden decks to remove the winter's accumulation of mold/mildew.
Back to the egg/poultry thing - that "smell" you get from both is eliminated by rinsing anything that came in contact with either in cold water and bleach before washing either by hand or machine. I learned the hard way that just rinsing those things and running them through the dishwasher only spreads that smell over the whole load of dishes. But then we each have our own version of insanity!!!

 

[weed30]

I only use it in an empty washing machine to (hopefully) sanitize it after washing dog beds and reusable dog pee pads. I pour about a cup in, fill the washer with hot water and put it on soak for awhile, then run the rest of the cycle.

 

[ea56]

I use LCB when doing whites. Its also good for other household sanitizing and cleaning. That being said, I recently bought a gallon of Clorox Color Safe Bleach, which is essentially hydrogen peroxide. Since my white loads are often small, I thought that it would be a good idea to try this Color Safe Bleach so I could also wash light colors with the whites and not have them fade from LCB.

I tried it last Wednesday on laundry day and it worked very well. Then on Saturday, bed changing day I washed the heavy mattress pad using this same Color Safe bleach. WOW, the results were excellent! I’m glad I gave this product a try. I’ll probably seldom use LCB for laundry from now on.

Eddie

 

[robbinsandmyers]

I use it for cleaning the bathroom or white laundry washes. For kitchen cleaning I've switched to grain alcohol because the fumes get to me after a while. Speaking of fumes, about 15 years ago a shop I worked at used Boraxo hand soap in the bathroom along with Dial liquid. One time I mixed the Boraxo powder with some Dial and I could swear it smelled like ammonia!

 

[sudsmaster]

I have a Miele in the workshop where I do loads of whites. Mainly wash cloths and small towels. I never add chlorine bleach to the Miele. In fact, as I recall, it's not compatible. I do set the temp to the highest (170 or 190, depending on the Miele... I have several) and get excellent results.

Chlorine bleach is fine for floors and non-fabric surfaces. A gallon generally lasts me 10 years or more.

Yeah, I know, it can deteriorate by 10 years.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Eggy smell..

I found it does NOT remove that smell...In fact, nothing does that I can find. I resort to rinsing off anything egg on dishes or everything has that smell..EVEN if I add chlorine bleach...I think the bleach helps some but not fully.. It's still there. Dishes are clean...but it's still there.

This is the only thing I use bleach for..The white loads only and only a very small amount goes in the FL bleach dispenser..I have a chemical spray bottle that I put about a tablespoon (that's all) of bleach and fill the spray bottle with plain water..that's literally all I use it for... I have to buy the small bottle because I go through it so slowly

Oh I forgot...I will pour like a shot glass amount in the dishwasher just before starting it.

 

[sudsmaster]

Eggy smell could be from sulphur. Is it possible there's sulfur in the water where you live? Or, sulphur in the hot water tank? Of course you'd notice it when you took a shower, of course. Just a thought.

 

[askolover]

I love bleach!  It just smells clean.  All of my bath towels and wash cloths are white, most of my kitchen towels and rags, our socks and underwear, and some sheet sets are all white and the all get bleached EVERY time they are washed.  You want clean?  Get a cleaner with bleach in it!  <span style="font-size: 24pt;">CLOROX MEANS CLEAN</span>

 

[michaelman2]

Asklover..I could not agree more. I realize LCB is caustic and can degrade fabrics if used in excess...however, your mention of the smell is spot on! I don't want it to be overwhelming or completely toxic but I do want "wafts" of the chlorine smell in a bathroom and kitchen. I know there are alternatives, however old habits may be difficult to break, however, they typically can have some reality to them...you are right Chlorox means CLEAN.

I remember years ago I was having to share a bathroom in college. The minute I arrived, I went to a local grocer and purchased a gallon of bleach and proceeded to go back to the dorm, clean the shower, countertops, floors and toilets with LCB. I remember overhearing one of the guys saying " it smells like a indoor pool in here"....mission accomplished!

 

[ea56]

I absolutely agree with Greg and Mike about Clorox LCB. It does have a rightfully earned place in the arsenal of cleaning products. Its inexpensive and effective. If used according to directions there is no reason that fabrics should be damaged.

Its the people that just pour a great big glug into the washer without measuring that find fabrics destroyed. My late mother was never one to measure either detergent or bleach. She just poured in whatever she considered to be a sufficient amount. Most of the time this worked out OK for her, but there were the occasional mishaps with the LCB where items were damaged.

I always measure whatever laundry product I’m using and seldom have a problem.

As for the sanitizing of hard surfaces, nothing beats a dilute solution of LCB and water. And it doesn’t leave a film.

Eddie

 

[sudsmaster]

Be careful...

Found this article fairly quickly:

 

<blockquote>
Cleaning with bleach could create indoor air pollutants

 

For generations, people have used chlorine bleach to clean and disinfect their homes. However, researchers have now discovered that bleach fumes, in combination with light and a citrus compound found in many household products, can form airborne particles that might be harmful when inhaled by pets or people. They report their results in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology.

 

Bleach cleaning products emit chlorine-containing compounds, such as hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and chlorine gas (Cl₂), that can accumulate to relatively high levels in poorly ventilated indoor environments. These gases can react with other chemicals commonly found in homes, such as limonene -- an orange- or lemon-scented compound added to many personal care products, cleaners and air fresheners. In addition, indoor lighting or sunshine through windows might split HOCl and Cl₂ into a hydroxyl radical and a chlorine atom, which can react with other compounds to form air particles called secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). These pollutants have been linked to respiratory problems and other adverse health effects. Chen Wang and colleagues wanted to see whether limonene and bleach fumes, at concentrations likely to occur in indoor environments, could react to produce SOAs under light and dark conditions.

 

The researchers added limonene, HOCl and Cl₂ to air in an environmental chamber and then measured the reaction products using mass spectrometry. In the dark, limonene and HOCl/Cl₂ quickly reacted to produce a variety of volatile compounds. When the team turned on fluorescent lights or exposed the chamber to sunlight, these volatile compounds interacted with the light-generated hydroxyl radicals and chlorine atoms to form SOAs. Although the composition and possible health effects of these particles need to be studied further, they could be occupational hazards for people involved in cleaning activities, the researchers say.

 

</blockquote>

Cleaning with bleach could create indoor air pollutants

For generations, people have used chlorine bleach to clean and disinfect their homes. However, researchers have now discovered that bleach fumes, in combination with light and a citrus compound found in many household products, can form airborne particles that might be harmful when inhaled by...

www.sciencedaily.com