used chlorox splashless bleach to "clean" washing machine

[emmach]

I have owned my TC5 for over 4 months and I have never used bleach (either in a "cleaning cycle" or added to the detergent when doing laundry) so knowing I was overdue on the matter (even with the small number of loads I do each week) I bought some. Unfortunately, it seems that I bought the wrong type: Chlorox splashless bleach. My sister recommended this bleach as she has used it for her "cleaning cycle” in her Maytag MVWP575GW and had no problem. We assumed splashless had something to do with the shape of the bottle, not the actual bleach itself.

I used 1 cup for a full machine of hot water as those were the instructions for her Maytag. After it was agitating for a few minutes, I lifted the lid and saw a TON of foam. I had to do 4 rinses to get rid of it (I think it is gone, but I just didn’t want to use more water for no reason.) I read online that this type of chlorox has a thickening agent which makes this foam. I really hope I have not harmed my machine. (At the end of the third rinse, I saw a little water on the floor at the back corner of the machine that I cannot account for, and the last spin cycle was making a strange noise.) Is there any possibility that this thickening agent could have harmed the machine, and being that this bleach only contains 4.5% sodium hypochlorite, did I actually help get rid of any mold and mildew in my machine or was this just a colossal waste of time and water and I need to run a cycle with “regular” bleach?

I learned that the Chlorox splashless bleach was to blame from this webpage from Whirlpool (I had googled "bleach and suds in washing machine")
producthelp.whirlpool.com/Laundr...
It says:
Experiencing too much sudsing in your Whirlpool washer?
Did you use "no splash" or "easy pour" liquid chlorine bleach?
If this is the case, run the washer empty, using regular liquid bleach products, or clean with affresh® washer cleaner before running another load.

This sounds like I cannot do a load until I have "cleaned" my machine properly with bleach or affresh. I did 4 rinses and the last one seemed to be clear. Why would Whirlpool say that a person needs to use bleach to get rid of the splashless bleach? Why not say to do rinses until the water is clear? (I know there is no point in asking a Whirlpool customer service rep or a SQ rep as my experience with reps is that it is extremely doubtful they know more than I do.)
Please give me your opinion! Thank you!

 

[yogitunes]

Speed Queen offers a "Clean Washer" cycle?.....

I was checking control panels of both TL and FL, and didn't see one listed....

what does the manual say?...

are you sure the excess suds were from the bleach?....could have been from excess amount of detergent residue....in which case it is working....tossing in some vinegar on the last rinse will usually kill any suds remaining....

proper use of machine, detergents and LCB of good quality and proper temps, have never seen a machine needing to be cleaned...

 

[donprohel]

Splashless bleach

Apparently, Chlorox Splashless Bleach is not just bleach, but it contains also surfactants and of course a thickener.

The surfactant is the probable culprit, and as Yogytunes says, some vinegar (or even citric acid) should help to get rid of the residues and hence also of the suds.

https://smartlabel.labelinsight.com/product/6190776/ingredients

 

[emmach]

clean washer cycle

The Speed Queen does not have a designated clean washer cycle - they mention nothing about it in the manual. I had once asked Customer Service why nothing was written about it in their manual (while most other brand machines do) and they said to run a vinegar cycle every few months. I have read that bleach does better to prevent mold, so I used that.

I cannot imagine it was detergent residue as I have looked at the rinse water enough times during loads and have seen very few suds.

Since I do not use LCB with my detergent, (I don't wash many "whites") I want to periodically use it to prevent the mold and mildew that developed in my previous washer.

Are you familiar with this splashless chlorox? Could I have done any harm to the machine? Does Whirlpool's advice/instructions make any sense to you?
Thanks

 

[ea56]

Do Not Add Vinegar to Chlorine Bleach!

It creates a dangerous Chlorine gas that can be lethal!  

 

If you are going to use vinegar in your washer make SURE that there isn’t any trace of Chlorine bleach present.  It could prove to be the last time you’ll ever use your washer if you mix these two cleaning products.

 

I once mixed Ammonia with LCB in the washer when I was a teen and I had to evacuate the house until the fumes subsided.   Mixing anything other than detergent with LCB can be a dangerous thing!

 

Eddie

 https://www.bobvila.com/articles/bleach-and-vinegar/

Never Mix Bleach and Vinegar: Here's Why

Mixing bleach and vinegar is a bad idea because it produces toxic chlorine gas. Here's what you should know about mixing these chemicals.

www.thoughtco.com

 

[emmach]

splashless bleach

Thanks, donprohel
I did 4 rinses and it seemed like the suds were gone on the last one. So is there still a reason to use vinegar? Is it possible there may still be residue somewhere in the machine even though the suds are gone? (The rinses were with cool water, my next laundry will be using quite warm water - could that activate something left behind?)
If I should use vinegar - how much and in what temperature water?
Also, do you think this splashless bleach was at all helpful in preventing/killing mold (like regular bleach is supposed to do)?
Thank you

 

[maytagbear]

Read the bottle....

Not all bleaches are disinfectants. The only way to be certain is to READ THE LABEL, and look for an EPA registration number. If it does not have that number, it is not a disinfectant.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[emmach]

Read the bottle

Thanks Maytagbear. I'm new to chlorine bleach so I'm pretty ignorant. Does it have to be able to "disinfect" in order to kill/prevent mold?
There is an EPA reg No. on the bottle. That would be the only reason something like this has to be registered?

 

[DADoES]

 
You are in no danger at the moment and the bleach-suds did not damage the machine.  No need at this time to run more "cleaning" with non-splashless bleach or vinegar or anything else.  Four rinses means you ran four more full cycles?  Or four Rinse/Spin cycles?  Any bleach residue should have been flushed away, either way.

Continue on with normal use of the machine, and run your next cleaning of it at whatever interval and method you feel is appropriate per your local water conditions and usage habits ... bleach or vinegar (never mixed together), or a washer-cleaner product such as Tide, Affresh, or Lemishine.

 

[emmach]

Thanks so much, DADoES
I did 4 rinse/spin cycles. 3 rinses and spins using the wash cycle (I cancelled in between) using cool water, so those rinses were for 9 minutes each with the 4 minute 20 second low spin after each one. I followed that with a warm wash of about 5 minutes which I then cancelled and went directly to the final spin of 8+ minutes.

I feel pretty confident that all the rinses got rid of the bleach residue. It is the thickening agent I am concerned about. Does no more suds=no more thickening agent in the machine?

Since I dont use lcb when washing my clothes, I think I was pretty overdue in doing a clean cycle so it would be useful to know if this splashless bleach containing 4.5% sodium hypochlorite did anything to prevent/kill any mold in the machine.

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Splashless bleach is thick (often blue) Bleach plus surfactant (synth soap).
It's not a good idea to add to put in dishwashers as well..
Every now and then on Facebook's housekeeping groups some people came out asking a devices as they put it in the dishwasher and made a foam party.
If it suds a lot is a good sign anyway it means there wasn't much gunk inside the washer.

 

[maytagbear]

That is

correct, emmach.

L/Mb

 

[kenmoreguy89]

advices

 

[emmach]

read the bottle

Thanks, Maytagbear- So since there is an EPA reg No. on the bottle, it hopefully did something to prevent/kill mold?

 

[maytagbear]

Briefly.......

Yes.

L/Mb

 

[emmach]

thanks Maytagbear!

 

[eronie]

Splashless bleach

I used 1/2 cup Splashless Clorox in my patio fountain to get rid of the Algae!
It foamed over for hours ! But did get rid of the Algae !

 

[askolover]

Yes it foams quite a bit.  We used to use it but with the water softener it just made too many bubbles so I quit buying it and went back to plain old fashioned Clorox.