My name is Maggie, and I am a Bleachoholic...

[maggie~hamilton]

=-> Commercial laundries/diaper services have access to various final rinse products that soften and or sour, and sanitise in one step. <-=

Aren't used nappies sour enuf already!? hahaha

 

[sudsmaster]

Chlorine bleach is a strong oxidant. Oxidation is a form of burning. We all need oxygen to live, because it allows us to "burn" our food and release its energy and building blocks. But oxidation is the enemy of most inanimate objects. It causes rust on steel, corrosion on aluminum, along with UV it causes fading, powdering, and flaking paint on our houses and cars, deterioration of stored food ingredients (like oils and flours), etc. So it's no surprise that chlorine bleach causes deterioration of various fabrics - eseentially it "burns" them. This same burning action accounts for its usefulness; it burns the stains out as well. A mixed blessing.

 

[frigilux]

Here's an interesting concept: Fabric Softener that also sanitizes. Designed for final rinse in commercial laundries. That would end the whole enzymes vs. chlorine bleach and Oxy vs. chlorine dilemma.

http://www.acs-manufacturing.com/laundry/brochures/Tender_Touch.pdf

 

[sudsmaster]

Most fabric softeners are cationic quaternary ammonium surfactants, which have antibacterial activity. So most fabric softeners have some sanitizing capability. How much, don't know. Don't care

 

[maggie~hamilton]

Speaking of fabric softeners

Do any of you-all washer experts use dryer-sheet fabric softeners (Bounce etc.)? If so, what about the problem of the gunk from the sheets clogging up your dryer filter and eventually causing major repair damage?

I got one of those "urban myth scare" emails along this line some time ago and looked it up on snopes.com as I always do. To my surprise, this one actually checked out. (See link)

Not that I use the stuff, mind you. I really don't want to wear clothes that are saturated with God-Only-Knows what sort of chemical additives, especially "intimate apparel." If you ask me, the fewer chemicals introduced to that area of one's anatomy, the better. Can it really be okay for one to have one's skin absorbing all that stuff from one's clothing? I don't use spray starch for the same reason. I'd rather look a little wilted than be a walking toxic chemical dump.

When I have static cling, I've found that lightly spritzing the offending garment with water from a plant mister puts it right.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/dryer.asp

 

[neptunebob]

I tell everyone that dryer sheets are an evil plot to get people to buy dryers more often. We got to keep the workers in Benton Harbor busy! A dryer last almost forever (like they used to)? No way! Think of the unemployment in Michigan! So be patriotic, use dryer sheets!

 

[launderess]

Chlorine Bleach and Sanitation

Have stated this before and it is worht repeating, chlorine bleach is not the best method of sanitising if one does not know certian things.

For instance high levels of organic matter/germs will deactivate the germ killing power of LCB. This is why directions state for disenfecting one must clean a surface BEFORE, using a bleach solution. Same applies to laundry, where commercial laundries will use a ratio of soiled laundry to bleach, adjusting for amount of soils. Even better bleach is added in a separate cycle after the wash water is drained so much of the organic matter is already washed away.

Water treatment plants constantly monitor conditions and will adjust chlorine content accordingly, which is why after a heavy rain, low water conditions, etc, one usually can smell tap water mile away. This means a higher than normal presence of bacteria have been detected and the chlorine bleach level has been increased to deal with the potential health threat. Some areas the water is so bad all the time, tap water always smells like "wash water".

There is also the fact that chlorine bleaches vary in their strength. Commercial laundries have dry versions of chlorine bleach that will blast away most anything. Such bleaches are used to "reclaim" badly soiled/stained linens/items that are going to the rag bin anyway, so if they are damaged by the high level of bleaching, it is no big deal.

Anyone who gets their hands on commercial chlorine bleach, should read the directions carefully regarding dilution ratios and usage. You may end up with white laundry, but it will be full of holes and in tatters.

 

[mickeyd]

"holes and tatters"

I remember a time when my sneaker laces were heavily soiled, and in my boy's mind, pure undiluted chlorine seemed a grand solution. So, I soaked them overnight in a cup of Clorox. A day or two later, I returned to the miracle cure to find a bowl of mush.