Q. Your 800 number just seemed to address an oil or cream stain from sunscreens. My problem is the pinkish stains from the sunscreen reacting with my body oils and/or sweat. These new SPF screens at 55 and above have really made a mess of my white shirts. I have tried soaking in OxiClean® with no success.

A. So I assume you tried the pretreat method I recommended on the 800 #? My guess is that you may need to pretreat the spot/area using either liquid dishwasher (Dawn) or detergent to solubilize the oils (apply, rub in, wait 3-5 minutes), and then wash immediately in the warmest water recommended on the care label using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach (for whites) or for colors Clorox2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster, our oxygen bleach based on hydrogen peroxide. If the stain is grease/oil-based, you’ll want to avoid water when treating the stain. The presoaking in OxiClean® probably fails since it does not have enough surfactants needed to dissolve the grease/oil portion and the small amount in the product becomes diluted when used as presoak. I believe the pretreat recommended above might be better.

Q. I have a bunch of 100% cotton white t-shirts that are getting gray in color, and a few have tough stains that detergent and stain removers (Shout/Spray n' Wash, etc.) have exhausted their efforts on. The problem is, all of them have iron-on (not screen printed) type graphics on them. If I bleach these shirts, will it discolor or damage the graphics?

A. It is an important distinction between iron-on and screened prints. These can vary greatly depending on how effective the transfer was done. The short answer regarding liquid bleach usage is... it depends. If the stains have been previously treated and dried, they may be difficult/impossible to remove.

So here's how I would proceed:

• You need to know if it's safe to use liquid bleach on the shirt. I recommend consumers do the quick Bleachability Test (2 tspn Clorox® Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden area like inside seam, hemline or cuff of the shirt (you'll need to do this also on each iron-on area, as well); wait 1 minute and then blot with towel). No color change means it is safe to use bleach on the item. (Check out the Laundry 101 video on my blog (http://www.drlaundryblog.com) for a demonstration of the Bleachability Test.) Now you have a couple of choices: On the stains, I would consider using Clorox® BleachPen Gel (apply; rub in with scrubber tip; wait 3-5 minutes) before adding to the washer. And for the graying, I would also do a quick liquid bleach soak (1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in gallon of cool water for 5 minutes), then wash immediately in the hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Check for success after washing and before drying, as more than one treatment may be needed if they're really dirty. Also for greasy/oily stains, do a quick pretreat with liquid dishwasher or laundry detergent (apply, rub in, then wait 3-5 minutes before washing).


• If the items are NOT bleachable, then your best bet is pretreating the stained areas as mentioned above. Then do an extended presoak with a good powdered detergent, which has special ingredients to help remove the dirt/grime. In a sink/bucket, start with warm water, add 1/2 to full dose of powdered detergent, and make sure all the powder is dissolved before adding the t-shirts. Leave them to sit overnight, and follow by washing them in hot water using detergent and Clorox2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster, our oxygen bleach based on hydrogen peroxide. Check for success after washing and before drying, as more than one treatment probably will be needed if they're really dirty.

Q. My husband wears fire retardant clothing while performing his job which results in a lot of grease and dirt stains. Can I use your product? The clothing is marked No Chlorine Bleach, No Hydrogen Peroxide, and Detergent Only.

A. For fire retardant clothing, one does not want to remove or ruin the finish. That is why the limitations on the laundry product usage are listed.

For grease and dirt stains, I would try pre-treating them with either liquid laundry or dishwasher detergent (apply, rub in, wait 3-5 minutes), then washing in the hottest water recommended on the care label. Neither Clorox® Regular-Bleach nor Clorox2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster is appropriate for this clothing.

Q. We have a family friend living with us. When he washes his white clothes, he always adds too much bleach. It makes the house smell, and has given me headaches on more than one occasion. He only washes a small load of whites. I don't always use bleach, and when I do I probably don't use enough.

What is the correct amount of bleach to use in any situation?

A. You weren't specific about the washing process (for example, whether this in a washing machine or sink, etc.).

Check out my blog (http://www.drlaundryblog.com) and view the "How to Use Bleach" video for more details on the 3 different ways to add Clorox® Regular-Bleach to your washer. General rules are 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach for normal loads in a toploader washer, and up to 1 1/4 cups Clorox® Regular-Bleach for extra large loads. For smaller loads, one would adjust down the usage to ~ 2oz or 4 Tbspoons per 5gallons of water.

You definitely don't want to make the solution too concentrated as this is not good for the clothes.

Q. I use Clorox to sanitize surfaces in a sick person’s room—mostly items that she will touch, such as the toilet, the rails on the bed, door handles etc. We are trying to use the bleach in a spray bottle mixed with water. The purpose is to kill C. Diff and MRSA.

The problem is: when I mix Clorox with Water in a spray bottle, the first spray is brown. This does not happen every time.

A. What you describe is a frequent issue, and the reason we do NOT recommend making/using a bleach spray solution. The sodium hypochlorite active in Clorox® Regular-Bleach reacts with metal parts in the ordinary trigger spray assembly and basically creates a rust solution. One needs specially treated metal parts like those used in our Clorox® Clean-Up® Spray Cleaner trigger to avoid the problem. The longer the contact time for the bleach solution and trigger, then the more likely you are to see the rust solution. Obviously, the rust solution will NOT be providing the desired surface disinfecting you intended.

For your problem, a disinfecting bleach can be used as follows. Pre-clean any surface. Make a disinfecting solution (3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in a gallon of water); wash or wipe this solution on the surface; allow to stand for at least 5 minutes; rinse and air dry.

You could also buy the Clorox® Clean-Up® Spray Cleaner and use it according to label directions.

Q. I have white tennis shoes and they need to be brightened up. I was
wondering if it is safe to spray ® Clean-Up® Spray Cleaner on my shoes and then wash
them?

A. Generally, the answer would be it depends on what stains there are on the shoes that need to be removed, and whether bleach is the only product you'll need to get the result that you want.

Assuming there are no other issues, here are some alternative ideas to getting your white shoes back:

• The ready-to-use solution should be our Clorox® Clean-Up® Spray Cleaner. It also has some extra surfactants that are great for helping to loosen stains and dirt. I would dampen the shoes, then spray on the Clorox Clean-Up. Rub it in with a sponge, wait 3-5 minutes, then wash in hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. I like to air dry rather than dryer dry (less noise from the tumbling, and less shrinkage).


• Another convenient product is our Clorox® BleachPen Gel. It has a thickened bleach solution in a handy dispenser with a fine and scrubber tip to control where the bleach is applied. Simply shake it up, pick the scrubber tip, squeeze out and rub in; wait 3-5 minutes, then wash in hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Again, air dry and you should be good-to-go.


• The last option is to do a quick liquid bleach soak before washing. Add the shoes to a solution of 1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach and a gallon of cool water for 5 minutes, then wash immediately in hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach.

Q. This might sound rude, but I have a real problem with fly poop on my silk curtains and chair covers. They all look like little black "plus" signs (+), and I don't know how to get them out. I am scared about ruining the silk.

A. If it were any other fabric than silk, I would venture to make some recommendations.
In this case, since silk can vary so much in its reaction to cleaning, I would recommend that you contact a professional cleaning service for their advice. At a minimum, some type of fly control should be investigated to help prevent future occurrences.

Q. I travel a lot for my job, so I have automatic feeders for my cats, along with an automatic water dispenser that I keep filled for them outside. The problem is that by the time I get back home, the inside of their water jug and bowl that it drips into has turned green. Is there any small amount of Clorox that I could safely put in their container to keep it from "going green"? I clean it out with a water and Clorox mix, rinse it well, refill and hope the "green slime" will not return, but it always does. What do you recommend?

A. The water container should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized before use. If possible, I would do this in an automatic dishwasher and then follow the directions below.

The following are directions from our EPA Master Label for Clorox® Regular-Bleach:

When you leave, you can add a couple of drops/quart to the water to produce the 5ppm:

Q. My daughter plans to wear a wedding veil my sister bought in Venice 40 years ago. It was ivory and has aged some, making it even darker. Her gown is significantly lighter. Can you recommend a product to safely lighten it?

A. You didn't indicate the type of fabric the veil was made from, which is very important in choosing the appropriate choice(s) for treatment.

I probably would consider an extended warm water presoak with Liquid Clorox 2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster per the label instructions. It's an oxygen bleach based on hydrogen peroxide, so it should be safe for your use. Follow this with a warm water wash using detergent and Clorox 2, and then air-dry to see how effective this treatment has been. If this isn't enough, you could consider doing another soak or taking it into the local drycleaner. Concerned about using the product? Try a quick Bleachability Test by applying a drop of Clorox 2 to a hidden section. Wait 2-3 minutes, rinse and air-dry, and any color change should give you an idea of the final outcome.

Q. I just went to the hairdresser wearing a bright white 100% cotton shirt, and brown hair dye from the previous client got on the back of my shirt. The label says only non chlorine bleach and warm water wash. I'm not sure what to use, and thought you might have some good advice. This is a fairly new shirt and one of my summer favorites.

A. If this is a cotton shirt, I'm sure it can be bleached. One of my pet peeves is that most manufacturers under label their items for legal reasons regardless of testing results. You can always test the shirt to see if it's safe to use liquid bleach.

I recommend consumers do the quick Bleachability Test (2 tspn Clorox® Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden area like inside seam, hemline or cuff; wait 1 minute and then blot with towel); no color change means it is safe to use bleach on the item. Now you have a couple of choices: I would consider using Clorox® BleachPen Gel (apply; rub in with scrubber tip; wait 3-5 minutes) before adding to the washer. Or,you could also do a quick liquid bleach soak (1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in gallon of cool water for 5 minutes), then wash immediately in the hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach.

Check out the Laundry 101 video on my blog (http://www.drlaundryblog.com) for a demonstration of the test.