Wash Cycle Is For Washing & Bleach Cycle Is For Bleaching
Is the way commercial laundries have done it for ages, and many domestic housekeeping manuals advised homemakers.
Chlorine bleach does not require long contact time for disenfection and whitening, about five minutes in hot water, maybe a bit longer in cooler temps. Longer exposure time only serves to weaken textiles. Indeed any stain or soil that cannot be removed in about five minutes with chlorine bleach will NOT be removed by the substance, period.
For disenfection and or sanitation purposes, the less germs and such on or in a substance, along with organic soils, the better any chemical disenfectant will work. Thus it is best to add chlorine bleach in another cycle after the main wash water has been drained away,taking much of the muck, soils and germs with it. Pools for instance have to add various large amounts of chlorine to keep bacteria levels under control because the water is by and large stagnant.
Read the directions on any EPA approved disenfectant and it will say for purposes of disenfecting, surface should be cleaned prior to applying solution.