Throughout my years, I’ve answered many questions about bleach and the safety of using it. Despite what you may be thinking, properly bleaching fabrics will not destroy them. There, I said it! And it’s not just because I work for Clorox. We’ve done what seems like a ton of fabric safety research at Clorox and outside labs.  When used as directed, we found it does NOT eat your clothing or ruin your washing machine. We’ll take a look at some of the common tall tales I’ve heard over the years about using bleach.  Let’s start with the most common one and save a couple for later.

Key Bleach Usage Hints:
The most important thing is to always read and follow label directions

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  Always use the proper amount
  
  


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  Never pour full-strength bleach directly on fabric. 
  
  


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  Dilute it using one of the three following methods
  
  




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  Adding to your bleach dispenser
  
  


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  Adding with the detergent as the washer water is filling, but BEFORE adding clothes
  
  


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  Diluting in a quart of water and adding 5 minutes into the wash cycle
  
  

MYTH: Bleach wears down fabric and shortens its lifespan. 
TRUTH: Fabrics will naturally deteriorate from wearing, washing and drying. Abrasion from normal wearing and contact with other items during washing and drying are the major contributors to fiber degradation.  So when your socks get holes at the toes or when your t-shirt stretches out, most of the wearing out occurs just by being worn. 

We evaluated a wide range of normally bleached items- socks, underwear, towels, bed sheets, t-shirts, dress shirts and baseball pants.  Our lab tests have shown no significant difference in fabric damage after 50 wash cycles between detergent alone and detergent and liquid bleach.  So what we have shown in our testing is liquid bleach does not significantly reduce the life of fabric when used as directed. 

MYTH: If a garment label says don’t use bleach, do not bleach it. 
TRUTH: It’s a shame but a lot of manufacturers will actually under-label items to minimize any legal liability.  We know almost all cotton whites and most synthetic whites are safe to wash in liquid bleach.  If a label on your whites says not to use bleach, use my bleachability test and test it in a hidden area.

Not everything is bleachable.  Remember to check the label. I don’t recommend bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather, spandex and non-colorfast colors.

First, let me say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my son Brandon!  Hope it is a great day for you.  Sorry I won’t be there.  Dr. Laundry is in New Zealand working on another commercial.

I admit it—I’m officially immersed in soccer fever this month. World Cup Germany has me glued to my TV as often as I can, and much more than my wife would like! Hey, it only happens every four years so it’s a special treat that I’ve been looking forward to since Brazil won in 2002. What’s not to love??  The pageantry of fans decked out in their countries colors and loud singing of all the national fight songs.  The heartbreak of Australia losing with almost no extra time; the penalty kick loss of the Swiss; the no-clue Russian referee and his record-setting 20 card display; and as I write this, the much anticipated  Spain vs. France. With the quarterfinals this weekend, you know where I’ll be!

For all of you who aren’t diehard soccer fans like me, Clorox actually has a partnership close to my heart—with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). I ref soccer games nearly every summer weekend and have really developed a deep love for the sport over the years.  Both my kids played competitive soccer for 10 years each.  It is a beautiful game that teaches a ton of life lessons, offers lots of physical exercise and forms friendships that can last a lifetime.

Which brings me to some stain advice for stains from the soccer field. There are quite a number of different fibers used in soccer items.  Each has some advantages and disadvantages for looks, and ease of cleaning.  There are tons of grass stains, mud slide marks and lots of perspiration.  Bleach is the best chance for removal and helps keep athletes looking like soccer stars.  Remember to check whether bleach is safe to use on those colors using our Bleachability test that’s included in one of my previous entries.
Polyester is a widely-used fabric and can benefit from the use of bleach to treat those stain spots.  Cotton, on the other hand, is a much more porous fiber and tends to really absorb stains, mud and sweat.

All stains like grass, dirt, mud and sweat can benefit from quick action right after the game, before the stains can set.  If it’s really nasty, a good presoak is best.  Use a good enzyme containing powder detergent in warm water for 30-60 minutes to loosen the dirt and mud and start breaking down the grass stains.

If there are just a few spots, try pretreating with Clorox® Bleach Pen® Gel.  If not appropriate, try using a liquid laundry detergent and rub it into the stain. Then launder immediately using the hottest water recommended for the items and add Clorox® Regular-Bleach (whites) or Clorox 2® Bleach for Colors (colors) with detergent. This also holds true for rugby clothes, which is really popular here in New Zealand.  Those uniforms are a real mess after about 10 minutes of their matches.

With Fourth of July right around the corner, I wouldn’t be surprised if my phone starts ringing again with lots of stain questions. Send ‘em my way and have a great Fourth of July!

Calling all fashionistas: white pants, blouses and handbags are all the fashion rage -  even after Labor Day. I'm not kidding! The archaic "rule" prohibiting white to be worn other than between Memorial Day and Labor Day has been largely brushed aside. According to legend, wearing white after Labor Day was discouraged because it was considered not protective enough from colder temperatures and weather. Understandably, wearing lightweight white pants during a blizzard makes about as much sense as wearing no pants at all. But, most people have the sense to dress in what will keep them most comfortable, given the weather and the occasion. I wear white every day, regardless of the time of year. :)

White has long represented purity, cleanliness and innocence, which helps explain its prominence on the wedding circuit. In 1858, Princess Victoria's white wedding dress  set off the trend of wearing the white wedding gown. Despite all the variations in the style of wedding dresses -- from a lavish, long Vera Wang gown to an off-the-rack, knee-length mini-dress - most American brides opt for a white gown to celebrate their "big day."

Because of their pureness - and their ability to reveal stains - keeping white garments their "whitest" is critical in the fashion world as well as at home. Luckily, Regular Bleach helps make this an easy task - just add it to your white wash!

The easiest way:
Pour Clorox Bleach (scented or regular) into your bleach dispenser. If you don't have a dispenser, simply pour in Clorox Bleach (scented or regular) along with your detergent as your washing machine fills with water. Use 3/4 cup for a standard washer, 1 1/4 cup for an extra large washer. Add clothes after agitation has begun.

Also, later this summer, be on the lookout in your laundry aisle for a new product I've been working on in the lab with my team - a new, improved way to help keep your whites their whitest! The Unexpected Bleach is on its way!!

With summer now in full swing, it is a good time to start discussing some common summer stain blunders that are going to happen during this season’s activities.Speaking of summertime activities - check out photos of the stuff we’ve been doing with several Minor League Baseball teams this year. Everyone knows stains can happen at any time or any place, and an outing to the ballpark always seem to have plenty! We gave away thundersticks at a recent Corpus Christi Hooks (Texas) game.

Also—check out my name in some recent magazines! In the July issue of Real Simple magazine, I was quoted in an article on “Summer Stains” explaining why so many stains occur during the summer. Also—Chemical & Engineering News’s June 12 issue (last week) wrote an article about my blog! Wow, I may be starting to get famous!

OK, back to stain removal. I know it is very embarrassing when you are at your friends’ or relatives’ homes and you, or your child (whether they’re 2 or 42) spill on clothing or your host’s tablecloth. I know they happened at my daughter’s recent graduation party.  Hey, don’t fear the ketchup bottle – just act fast. Here are some tips to keep you from creating a party foul this summer… Remember our basic rules for best results:

• Treat stains ASAP; better wet than set


• Pretreat or presoak to help jumpstart removal


• Always read and follow label directions and pretest any product on the fabric to make sure colors won’t be affected


• Check for success at end of wash cycle, before drying; retreat problem if needed

Here’s a quick table to help get you started.

Remember, we need different chemistry to attack different types of stains. 

The first box contains stains that are generally water soluble and colored.  Thus, rehydrating them and using bleach is a good approach to remove them.

The second box contains stains that have significant greasy/oily components. Never wet them first (oil and water don’t mix).  Rub a good liquid detergent or pretreater product into the stain to help dissolve up the oily part.  Then follow with a good hot wash and bleach to help remove any colored portion of the stain.

The third box contains dairy and protein stains. The key here is never start with warm or hot water as it may “cook”/ set the protein and severely limit removal. Most good detergents have enzymes which help break down the protein for easier removal in the wash.  Again, adding bleach in the wash helps finish the job.

More on other outdoor stains in upcoming posts. 

Don’t be shy…. Send me questions or comments.

 

Not surprisingly, I saw and helped create a lot of stain opportunities during my weekend activities.  Sunshine and rising temperatures mean outdoors, and stains go on the rise. Grass stains from cutting and edging, as well as Word Cup, lots of sweat and perspiration from participating in around-the-house cleanup and repainting the deck; mud/dirt from gardening; and the beverages need to handle that thirsty, dry throat.

I will be starting to hand out tips on how deal with these and other summer fun stains in my next few posts.

Got any that you’d like some help in solving?  Got some tips you would like to share?

Send them in and let share your ideas or see if I can help you solve your problems.

My daughter graduated from high school this week. I step back and marvel at the terrific young woman she has become.  Seems like yesterday we were dropping her off at kindergarten and now we will soon be packing her up and delivering her to San Diego State.  Wow, kind of puts a tear in your eye.But with the closing of one chapter comes a celebration.  So this weekend will be all about preparing for the arrival of out-of-town guests for the Graduation and the big party on Saturday.  Hey, and don’t forget about Father’s Day on Sunday.

I will hopefully get a chance to sneak in a quick check of the Busch race to see how our Clorox/Red Cross car with Jon Wood is doing. 

Then there is some World Cup action to look forward to. I am a soccer junkie, proud father of competitive soccer players and referee a ton of games each year (almost 100 last year).  I love to see the world stop every four years and watch the Beautiful Game.  I am awestruck with the powerful strike of free kicks that knuckle toward the goalie, incredible headers off set pieces or just the unusual like English goalie Paul Robinson hitting the Jumbotron trying to clear the ball downfield. At the end of the game, there is the jersey exchange as players gather to barter for those sweaty souvenirs their opponents were wearing. 

And to interpret the game, there is the referee crew.  I enjoy watching the best, hand-chosen for these assignments. Can’t help but wonder why the USA did not have a center chosen this year. Especially after the excellent job by Brian Hall from NorCal in the last World Cup.  Every World Cup has its high and low points for referees. Watching England/Paraguay, I was struck by the ease that Mr. Rodriguez from Mexico could stride the field and run backwards at full speed watching the ball in flight.  I wish that I could do that.  Then, there was the young German ref in the Netherland/Serbia game who always seemed to be too close to the action; getting run over, hit by a ball and even having to wait for the player to get up very slowly after a collision so he could be shown a yellow card.  It’s definitely a young man’s game to referee and I wish that I had the legs to do one of those games.

I’ll be back again on Monday to share more fun from my weekend, and some more of my laundry advice.

I look at a bad stain as a challenge that can usually be overcome. One of my most memorable stain-saving situations occurred the night before the Berkeley Ballet Theater’s performance of The Nutcracker, near San Francisco. One of the volunteers had hand sewn a gown for “Mother Ginger” with black ribbons running down a giant white skirt. The day before the show, one of the performers broke red lipstick and accidentally smeared it on the skirt. Funny, who knew being a scientist at Clorox would mean late night house calls!I don’t have any superhuman powers that I draw upon to remove tough stains like lipstick on white clothing. Just knowing some of the basics to stain make up goes a long way in guiding how you could react to it.

In the case of my little ballet drama story, lipstick was the bad boy we had to deal with. Lipstick is really a combination grease and color stain, so one of the worst things you can do is rub it into the fabric. To remove it, dampen a cloth with water and add a few drops of liquid dishwashing soap. From the back of the fabric, push the dishwashing detergent into the stain to start solubilizing (dissolving) the greasy portion and help separate the substance from the fabric. While pushing the back of the fabric, take a dry cloth to the front and blot the lipstick away from the fabric.  Keep changing the cloth so that a clean portion is always in contact with the stain.  Then, use a separate wet cloth to gently flush the remaining stain and excess dishwashing detergent from the item.

In general, if you have a stain on bleachable white fabric, I’ve found Clorox® Bleach Pen® Gel is a very effective way of getting rid of it. It allows you to bleach just what you want, the stain, and nothing more.  I’ll break down different types of stains in other posts…

Dr. Laundry’s DO This So You Won’t be Sorry Tips:

Whenever you are using a laundry product for the first time and you have some anxiety/concerns about whether it’s OK to proceed, try the following list to help ease your mind.

1. ALWAYS read the garment/fabric label.  It contains useful information like recommended washing, drying and handling directions.  Unfortunately, many manufacturers add “Do Not Bleach or Non-chlorine bleach only” even when one can safely use bleach. So you may want to test it on your own.


2. Unsure if a product is safe to use? Do a PRETEST.  Most products have a simple test to confirm it is acceptable to use.  For sodium hypochlorite, I always recommend the Bleachability Test.


3. If PRETEST is successful, follow product label instructions for further peace of mind.


4. Be careful when pouring or leaving bleach on surfaces.  When these contact the clothes your wearing, it can leave “bleach spots” or worse, little holes.  Unfortunately you don’t notice either until much later.


5. Check for success at the end of the wash cycle.  Make sure you solved your problem before tossing items into the dryer.  If at first you don’t succeed, either repeat the procedure or consider another approach.

Check out my “Tried and True Laundry Tips” and the Bleachability Test. Next time I think I’ll talk about some Bleach Myths like shortened fabric life and really clean clothes. Stay tuned…  

I wanted to address RB’s question from last week on mixing grays with the whites.I think it's great that you have the sweaty clothes (exercise is great!!). And I know just what you mean about wanting to make sure they get clean and disinfected. Nothing better than detergent and Clorox Regular Bleach for that job.

It’s usually OK to put grays in the whites load with bleach. A couple of things to consider here:

First, since it probably is a cotton item, we want to make sure that it can be safely bleached. So you will want to perform the simple bleachability test first on the garments in question. Any color change noted will give you a clue about how fast the hue may change. I would expect some small portion of the grey to be bleached out each time you wash, but my experience is that this is usually almost imperceptible. A larger change would make you reconsider adding it to whites since there is concern about dye transfer to the other white items.

Second, if the items are a set (shorts and shirt), always wash both items together. Since you can expect a slight color change to occur, this will help keep the set looking the same.

Step 2: Products

You wouldn’t try to bake a cake or fix a car without the proper tools – laundry should be seen in the same way. A lot of us just use the products our mom or last roommate used for doing our laundry. However, there are many options out there for detergents and additives – do you know what you’re putting in that washer?  

Detergent – Two types; liquid and powder. 

• Liquids are easier to use, cost slightly more and can be used to pretreat problems.


• Powders clean soils/dirt better but you need to make sure the powder gets dissolved.  If not, you will find the leftovers stuck to the dried clothes, usually most visible on the darker colors. 


• Make sure the detergent contains enzymes which help get out stains.  If you’re sensitive to fragrances, try the Free (no dyes or fragrance) version.

Bleach – Oh boy, there are several options here. I’ll get more into the other kinds of bleach in detail on another post – it could take awhile to get all the information out. Of course I am partial to the old reliable - Clorox Regular-Bleach. 

• Clorox Regular-Bleach for white and bleachable items only.  The easiest way to use bleach is to add it to the bleach dispenser that adds the bleach at the bottom of your washer.  Always add the bleach and detergent as the washer is filling and BEFORE you add the clothes. 


• Consider the Clorox Bleach Pen Gel for treating mostly whites (stripes or prints).  With the Bleach Pen you control where you want the bleach to go.  Use the scrubber tip to jump-start stain removal then toss in the washer with your white or mostly-white load. 


• For colors, there are color-safe bleaches that are available in liquid or powder forms. Use these products, like Clorox 2 Bleach for Colors, to help remove stains/soils and brighten colors.

Fabric Softener – Two options (liquid or sheets) are available to leave clothes feeling softer, help eliminate static cling and leave a lingering scent in your clothes.  Add the liquid to the fabric softener dispenser.  It will be added in the final rinse after the cleaning has been completed.  The dryer sheets will give less softening than the rinse-added version.

Step 3: Deal with problem stains & soils ASAP

Tackle stains with a pretreater or stain remover before laundering. This allows you to use concentrated product and jumpstart the removal.  Pretreat problems with liquid detergent (apply, rub in, let set 3-5 minutes) or special pretreater products.  If unsure whether product is safe to use on item, do a quick pretest (check label) or apply drop in hidden spot (like inside seam), wait 1-2 minutes, then blot with damp cloth/towel.  Air dry and check for discoloration. If none, then product should be safe to use on item.

Step 4: Ahh…to wash with hot or not to wash with hot

Choosing the right setting is key.  Check care labels on clothes before putting them into the washing machine. Use the warmest water recommended for the fabric to wash. Always use HOT for whites; light and dark colors should be warm or Permanent Press; delicates if not hand washed should only be done on DELICATE.  Add the proper amount of detergent to the dispenser or to bottom of washer as the water is filling and BEFORE you add the clothes. If using bleach, it’s best to pour it into the machine’s bleach dispenser, which adds it at the bottom of the machine, while water is filling, and helps to dilute it and disperse it more thoroughly. If you don’t have a bleach dispenser, let the water fill ¼ to 1/3 in the machine; add the detergent and bleach; swish the agitator to help mix and disperse then drop in your clothes.

An Ick Tip:

Do you know who used that washer before you at the Laundromat?  I know, gross, right? Always do the white load with disinfecting bleach first.  It will disinfect your white laundry, take care of anything the last person left behind, and keep from adding germs to the rest of your loads.

Step 5: DryCheck all stained fabrics as you transfer them into the dryer for successful removal. Once a garment has been dried, the stain may be permanent, because a dryer can “cook” stains into fabric. 

Want to save some energy and improve the way your fabrics look when dried?

For best results try and keep similar weight materials in the same load and do not overload the dryer. 

And don’t forget the hangers!  To get the most from those wrinkle-free and permanent press finishes, items should be removed while slightly damp and place on hangers to dry. 

Step 6: Fold and Put AwayStart folding IMMEDIATELY.  You will get fewer wrinkles and things are ready to be put away when you’re finished. Do I sound like your mom yet?

I’ll get into more details on bleach insights in my future postings! Stay tuned for more information and in the meantime, I look forward to hearing your questions and thoughts.