Q. My husband likes to wash our whites with Clorox. I have heard that long term use of Clorox will cause holes in the towels and clothing. Is this true? Our towels and some clothing have acquired these holes and yes, we've had these for a few years so I believe the wear and tear factor combined with the Clorox would cause the holes. However, my husband doesn’t believe this and he now thinks that we have moths eating up our whites (although our colored clothes, etc. are still hole free unless moths are just picky on what they want to eat?) So, he has put mothballs in our closet and the smell is just overwhelming the house.

A. This is obviously a touchy subject around your house. Here's what I know from my controlled laboratory testing conducted both at Clorox and outside independent research labs. When used as directed, there was no significant difference between washing in the leading detergent or the leading detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach after 50 wash cycles on a wide range of everyday items including towels, socks and underwear. Separate studies have shown that "normal" usage is responsible for the majority of all fabric damage, as abrasion from body contact, external dirt plus washing and drying continually "grind" away at the individual fibers. So the quality of the item and its manufacturing can also definitely be a major factor on how long it can last. Finally, it is also possible that insects can be a potential problem. However, this is usually from stored items put away between seasons and very, very rarely occurs in day-to-day situations.

100% white cotton items vary so much in quality that over time any abrasion can be more susceptible to damaging clothing. For example, sometimes we brush up against things during normal wearing that can create the pinholes- then after washing they are revealed. As for the colored items, a number of those can be polyester/cotton blends which are more durable. So as long as you are using a liquid bleach dispenser or diluting it in the wash water as the water is being added to the machine and BEFORE adding the clothes, then your fear of bleach holes should be diminished. Pouring or contact with full-strength Clorox® Regular-Bleach is to always be avoided as it can create fabric damage.

Q. I need Dr. Laundry's help! Regarding the shelf life of liquid chlorine bleach–if the bottle is stored and unopened, does it still have a shelf life of about a year, or will it store much longer if it remains sealed?

A. Thanks for your inquiry. I have written about this previously on the blog (http://www.drlaundryblog.com/?s=bleach+shelf+life) if you want to search for a more detailed answer.

The overall answer is yes, but there are a couple of possible caveats. The active ingredient in liquid bleach, sodium hypochlorite, is very sensitive to high heat and freezing, but under normal home storage conditions, it should still perform well for nine to twelve months. So if your storage conditions were either of these, then you will have irreversibly created salt and water.

Next question is intended use. The active does decline over time and to meet our EPA disinfecting requirements, you are probably on-the-edge; so I might add a little more than the 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water for any disinfecting projects. For general cleaning, you should be fine since a little liquid bleach goes a long way. Finally, I would start using it up ASAP and try not to keep it around so long in the future.

My basement flooded due to rain, with sewers over-flowing from outside and creek over-flow as well. The basement was flooded almost to the ceiling. What do I use to washing everything down with so it will be disinfected?

A. Hopefully you have been able to make some progress cleaning your basement. Below is information on disinfecting your basement with Clorox® Regular-Bleach, but first I want to remind you how to work safely with bleach to solve such a severe problem. Because you have such a large area to clean, it is important you wear protective clothing and eyewear. A long sleeved shirt and pants that you can disinfect with bleach when you are finished are fine, and you can get some goggles at your local hardware store. You should also wear gloves, and be sure your basement is well ventilated while you are working. From the Clorox® Regular-Bleach EPA master label:

It is critical that your basement be allowed to thoroughly dry, and you may need a de-humidifier to accomplish that. Also, note that these instructions are for non-porous walls. If your basement is finished with sheetrock, you will need to remove the wallboard down to the studs to determine if the floodwaters seeped into the walls, and if necessary treat the area with the bleach solution to prevent future mold and mildew growth. More than one treatment may be desirable to complete the process, and remember that it is critical that everything be rinsed and allowed to dry thoroughly (use a de-humidifier if necessary). Finally, all other items in the basement should be treated with the disinfecting solution per above (check for bleachability on any items/areas of concern), or disposed of. Good luck, and please contact me if you have any more questions or to let me know how it goes.

I put my pen in my shirt pocket without closing it. It was a gel refill pen. The cotton seemed to draw the ink out of the pen, and I currently have a pink cotton no-iron shirt with a dime-sized black spot at the bottom of the pocket. I have not dried the shirt in the dryer, but have tried several remedies including Amodex. It removed a little bit of the stain, but it’s still very visible.

Should I try Clorox bleach on it? Or is there some other method I can try?

A. I have a two-step process for dealing with ink stains that I hope will help you, but first you need to determine the colorfastness of the shirt. Many colored dress shirts can be safely bleached; do a quick bleachability test to be sure. Mix 2 tsp. Clorox® Regular-Bleach in ¼ cup water, apply a drop to a hidden area (hem, inside cuff) and blot dry. No color change means the shirt can be safely bleached, and you would treat the stain as follows:

1. Apply alcohol-based hand sanitizer to the stain and let it soak in for a few minutes.
2. Wash in the hottest water allowed (check the care label) with detergent and ¾ cup Clorox Regular-Bleach. Allow the shirt to air dry and check for success.

If the shirt doesn’t pass the bleachability test, then you can use Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster:
1. Apply alcohol-based hand sanitizer to the stain and let it soak in for a few minutes.
2. Apply Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster directly to the stain, wait five minutes, then wash in the hottest water allowed with detergent + Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster. Allow the shirt to air dry and check for success.

The biggest problem with a stain like this is that the ink is super concentrated and may require multiple treatments to get the stain out. Just be sure to continue to air dry the shirt in between treatments until you achieve success. Good luck, and let me know how it goes.

Q. Five days ago I got some pitch from a blue spruce tree on my exercise clothes. The clothes are black, and made from polyester and some spandex. Can you suggest a treatment?

A. This can be a very challenging stain to get out. Try treating the stains directly with De-Solv-It or Goo Gone, which you can find at hardware stores. I wouldn’t expect a problem with your polyester/spandex clothes, but I would still first test for colorfastness (apply a drop to a hidden part of the garments, rinse, and blot dry). If there is no color change, spray or rub a little into the pitch and then wash with detergent in the hottest water allowed (check the care label). Allow to air dry, and then check for success. You may need to repeat the treatment to remove the stains fully, increasing the length of time you pretreat the stains. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Q. I have put bleach on a colored t-shirt by mistake…do I re-color this area, or is it too far gone?

A. I have been able to hide small white spots on black cotton pants by coloring in the area with a black Sharpie pen. It’s not an exact match, but it hides it enough that the pants can still be worn. Sharpie makes a wide variety of permanent colored markers, and hopefully you can find one that is a close enough match to your shirt. This only works well for small spots, but is not practical if you accidentally washed the entire shirt. In that case, I would try to get used to the new color. Also, if the spot was caused by contact with undiluted bleach (which we NEVER recommend), eventually a hole may develop. Until then, hopefully you can get a little more use out of the shirt. Let me know how it goes!

We recently purchased an LG front-load machine. After getting it home we found that it had no instructions. How much bleach do you put in a normal size load?

A. The User’s Guide for your washer should have been inside it. I would go back to the store where you bought the washer and see if they can give you one from a floor model, or at least show you one and provide you with an 800 number for LG so you can call them and request a copy. Until you have a User’s Guide you can review, look closely at the bleach dispenser for a “max fill line” that you can fill to. For best results, use the maximum amount the dispenser holds. Keeping the User’s Guide for as long as you own your washer is important, since it is the best resource to make sure you get the most out of your washer, and can help with troubleshooting if you ever have problems with your washer in the future.

Every September, the Dad’s Club at our local elementary school pulls off the most amazing event: they feed the entire school (which has 275 or so families) a delicious spaghetti dinner for free. Prep begins early in the morning using the industrial kitchen at a local community church. The menu: spaghetti with homemade meat or vegetarian sauce, parmesan cheese, tossed salad, garlic bread, fruit punch, and coffee. The meal is served outdoors on the playground, allowing parents to visit with teachers and friends, kids to run around and play, and just about everyone to come home with a spaghetti sauce, salad dressing, or fruit punch stain! Dessert is of course a bake sale, because as every public school parent knows, raising extra funds makes a big difference in what programs you can provide at your school. Our school’s 5th graders sponsored the bake sale to raise money for their upcoming 2-night team building retreat where they learned valuable communication and problem solving skills. I’m sure many of you have programs at your school that have been or are in danger of being cut. Or, maybe you know how much a computer class would add to your school if you could just fund a program. Good news: Clorox wants to help, and has launched the 2010 Power A Bright Future grant contest, www.powerabrightfuture.com. Parents and teachers across the country have until September 27th, 2010 to nominate school programs for a chance to receive a $50,000 grand-prize grant or one of three $20,000 grants. There are three categories:

• 
  Learn: Education-focused programs (e.g. establishing a school recycling program)


• Play: Sports and exercise-focused programs (e.g. building a playground)


• Create: Arts-focused programs (e.g. funding an after-school music program)

It’s easy to nominate a school program. Just visit www.powerabrightfuture.com by September 27th to submit a photo and tell us about the program.

Each nomination should demonstrate how the program will truly make a difference to children in their respective communities. After all the nominations are in, the final decision is up to America.

From October 5 through November 1, 2010, the public will have the opportunity to vote online for the program they believe will make the biggest difference at a school. The program that receives the highest number of votes will be awarded the $50,000 grand-prize grant, and the next top vote-getter in each category (Learn, Play and Create) will each be awarded a $20,000 grant. The final Power A Bright Future grant winners will be announced on or around December 8, 2010.

It’s a great contest. I hope you will nominate a program for your school soon since the deadline is fast approaching, and I wish you good luck!

Q. Need your help. I accidentally bleached a white silk top and it turned yellow. I didn't realize it's not suitable for silk. How can I turn it white again?

A. That’s too bad about your silk top. I wish I had better news for you, but unfortunately it can’t be restored. While so many fabrics can be safely bleached, it's important to keep track of the fabrics it shouldn't be used on. In addition to not bleaching silk, you also want to avoid bleaching animal hair fibers (wool, cashmere, alpaca, angora, mohair, etc.) as well as leather and spandex. Thanks for writing!

I purchased a HE washer and dryer last year. Not long after I bought them, I had two different colored loads that had bleach stains (or lack of color) as if the bleach had been held in the washer. It ruined a comforter. I only use a very small amount in my white loads, but I will tell you that I just found the HE symbol on some Clorox bottles yesterday. I don’t know if I had overlooked it before, but I didn’t realize that there was a HE Clorox bleach. Do you know what could have caused my problem? Ever since then, I do whites last and try to make whatever load I do next a load of towels or something that isn’t so detrimental if it gets bleached. I don’t think I should be having this worry. Any advice?

A. I don’t think you should have to worry about bleach carrying over from load to load, either! I have some questions for you to help me better understand the situation. Do you continue to see spotting in your colored loads now? What brand of front-loading clothes washer do you have, and are you able to use the recommended ¾ cup per load? As far as what could have caused the problem with the comforter, here are some thoughts.

• The bleach dispenser possibly didn’t fully dispense bleach in the first load, so enough bleach carried over to the second load to damage the comforter. This might have happened if your machine is off-level. After washing bleach loads, check the dispenser to make sure it is empty; if necessary, rinse it before starting your next load.


• The comforter could have brushed up against bleach that spilled near or on your washer. Big, bulky items like comforters are more likely to brush up against surfaces in your laundry room.

I also want to note, all Clorox® laundry products are compatible with HE clothes washers, and carry the HE symbol to help increase consumer awareness of this. In addition to cleaning your clothes having your last load be a Clorox® Regular-Bleach load is great for keeping your washer free of bacteria that would otherwise grow in the water left inside the inner workings of the washer at the end of the cycle. I do this with my HE washer, too!