Why doesn't (most) chlorine bleach disinfect?

[drhardee]

Whilst washing a load of whites, I looked at the label of the Kroger equivalent brand of chlorine bleach I use ("Everyday Living" brand), and I noticed (much to my surprise and dismay) that NO WHERE on the label are the words "disinfecting" or "sanitizing". It also does not state anywhere what the concentration of sodium hypochlorite is. I got to thinking about this after reading the post about the "Clorox Coldwater Bleach" revelation. When did standard household bleach stop disinfecting? What is the deal with most store brand laundry LC bleach these days? Is this something to do with "ultra formulation", or is it just too much of an EPA hassle for manufacturers?

The distributor of this particular bleach,Inter-American Products, is not the manufacturer of the bleach; their website doesn't even list chemicals as one of their products, which seems strange.

What's the deal? Please use small words for those of us who didn't pass high school chemistry!

Inter-American Products: Products - Bakery, Dairy, Grocery

Inter-American Products has produced corporate brand groceries for top retailers and wholesalers throughout the world since 1907. Inter-American also produces branded national brand products and ingredients for the world's top grocery marketers and manufacturers.

www.interamericanproducts.com

 

[danemodsandy]

Look Hard at that Label....

drhardee:

I stopped using the Kroger Value brand of bleach when I found that I wasn't getting the laundering results I was accustomed to. Upon investigation, I found that it contained only 2.75% sodium hypochlorite by weight, something like half the concentration found in major brands like Clorox. Some "value"! This may be what's at the bottom of the situation you describe. I've switched to ALDI's Tundra Ultra Bleach, which has 6% sodium hypochlorite by weight. Big difference, let me tell you! The ingredient statement should be somewhere on the label of the Everyday Living version, even if it's in teeny-tiny type. I'll bet you'll find that the sodium hypochlorite content is low.

This is really frustrating, because all bleach brands used to be 5.25% sodium hypochlorite, I think it was, no reading the label and no guessing. Of course, that was much too convenient a situation to be permitted to continue.

 

[magic clean]

We have a

fresh bottle of Kroger "Everyday Living" Regular Ultra bleach. The label in bold red font states it kills 99.9% of germs etc.

The active ingredient sodium hypochlorite is said to be 6%.

I think some of the other versions with the floral scents and/or generic are not as powerful and can't make the disinfection claim.

L.P.

 

[drhardee]

Well, mine is "Citrus scent" Kroger EDL bleach, and the label says nothing about disinfecting or germ killing. I re-read the entire label, and there is no SHC % content that I can find. I'll buy Clorox next time!

 

[launderess]

Not Even All Types Of Clorox

Bleach disenfect anymore. IIRC from the last time one checked the shelves, only the regular/normal Clorox in either Ultra or Standard type has an EPA number. The rest, including all and sundry scented versions do not have an EPA number nor even mention disenfection. Remember when P&G first brought out Tide with Bleach and claimed it killed "99% of germs", until the EPA smacked them down by asking for detailed proof.

Methinks it has something to do with how tight the EPA has gotten about claims for disenfectants, which may make formulas of certain types of bleaches not worth while for their makers. May also have something to do with the trend of making LCB more "fabric friendly", to counter the claims (and in some cases rightfully so), that LCB can damage and or weaken textiles with repeated long term use.

Weak solutions of eau de Javel will remove stains and whiten textiles, just as well as more powerful versions. Indeed there are commercial versions of chlorine bleach designed for "reclaiming" badly stained or soiled linens that can destroy textiles if not used properly.

L.

 

[sudsmaster]

My educated guess is that fresh (not expired) 6% solutions of regular chlorine bleach will disinfect just fine. The ones that are labeled "disinfecting" are certified to be of that strength, mainly. You pay a little extra for that certification, but I don't think that means that the non-certified lots won't disinfect.

It is important to rotate the bleach stock as it does loose hypochlorite over time, presumably turning into relatively harmless but non-disinfecting salt. And some chlorine gas probably seeps through the walls of the plastic bleach bottle.

I recall reading some copy for a home ozonated water device a few years back. It claimed that ozonated water was far more efficient at disinfection than chlorine bleach - accomplishing the task in mere seconds, whereas chlorine bleach could take 30 minutes or more for same level of disinfection.

I did not purchase said device. Something to do with not being a germophobe, I guess.

 

[gyrafoam]

Used to be-------

that Clorox was ph balanced to the water in the area it was sold in. I wonder if this important practice has been abandoned? That was a big reason why Clorox always did a better job than the other products.

I think it is pretty sneaky (though not surprising) that the companies manufacturing and marketing these products have quietly dropped the disenfecting element.
For most of the public, bleach=disfectant.

Everyone should do a "1-800-RAGE" and let 'em know!

 

[jamiel]

I think that the EPA certification for LCB is just that...sodium (?) hypochlorite solution 5.25 percent or better, buffered for PH but with nothing else...no scent, surfactant, thickener, etc.

Hence, brand extensions are really not relevant and Clorox can't make much money except by withdrawing the EPA cert. Since all the private labelers can do the same...they do.

What is the lifespan of an unopened bottle of LCB?

 

[dalangdon]

With all the available fragrances in detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, etc, why would anyone want scented bleach?

I kind of like the smell of plain old Clorox. It smells clean.