Q. My question concerns using Clorox bleach to disinfect shower and kitchen wastewater in a tent/camping situation. We don't re-use the water, and we don't expect 100% disinfection. However, we do need an easy-to-follow guideline that accommodates a variety of temperatures and quantity of contaminants, and will keep the microbes under control until we can dispose of the water. The rule of thumb I came up with was this:

For a gallon of wastewater, mix in a quarter cup of bleach. Let it stand for half an hour, then sniff it. If it doesn't smell like bleach, add another quarter cup. Do this twice a day.

Am I grossly under- or over-dosing? Can you suggest a better rule?

A. Thanks for your interesting question. You didn't say where the treated water was going to be disposed of. If it is back into a waterway, then we would want a little higher standard, but ground watering probably would have a little lower threshold.

Here are some quick calculations to get you grounded:

• 1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach/gallon gray water would provide 900 ppm available Chlorine


• For swimming pools, the range is usually 1-3ppm or 1/8 cup/100 gallons


• For disinfecting potable drinking water in an emergency 1 tspn/gallon of clear water or 2 tspn/gallon of cloudy water; no chlorine smell after 30 minutes repeat until odor is present.

A difficult question to answer is how much organic load is in the water and how "uniform" is it from source-to-source and time-to-time. This has a direct bearing on your ultimate needed bleach level. So your suggested approach seems reasonable if you want to provide good quality water back into a waterway, since a noticeable chlorine odor would mean it is nearly "clean" water. If you are using the treated water for other purposes, then the single 1/4 cup application and stirring may be enough.

I’m so excited for all you iPhone and iPod Touch owners. Clorox has just released the FREE downloadable myStain mobile app available from the iTunes store. I developed this as both an on-the-go and when-you-get-home stain removal guide and game. In mid-June, Clorox will be introducing myStain for the Android (or Droid) smart phones.

The app includes more than 25 different stains, which should cover just about anything you can get into or on you. What a range of stains:

• Eating accidents (like burger drips, salad dressing, soy sauce or ice cream)


• Adult beverages (red wine, liquor or beer)


• Everyday beverages (coffee, tea or soda)


• Really TOUGH ones (vomit, dirt/mud, makeup or lipstick)

and MANY, MANY MORE!

HOW TO DEAL WITH IT NOW, AND LATER

First I tell you what to do right away, since the sooner you start, the better your chances are for ultimate removal of the stain. I also tell you what not to do, since the wrong treatment can make removal later on even more difficult/impossible. Then, I tell you what to do when you get home, since the wrong approach can lead to less than spectacular results.

The myStain app also includes an interactive game in which people can spin a wheel of stains and life situations to get funny stain removal tips for all occasions.

myStain covers a number of stains, but remember if I missed your particular one, you can always send me an email - dr.laundry@clorox.com. Like so many before you, I will provide you with a detailed roadmap for getting the best possible result.

Q. I have a Maytag Bravo washing machine that is not quite 2 years old. Up until recently I have had white whites. For some reason, my whites are slowing getting this gray, dingy color. I have used the same detergent for years with no problem: Tide for the detergent , Clorox and Downy fabric softener in the rinse cycle. The only change I have made in the last few months is the HE Clorox. What do you believe is causing the dinginess?

A. Thanks for your question; this is intriguing. Usually the new HE washers do a pretty good cleaning job. Your washing regimen may be the issue. I don't think your use of Clorox Plus® HE Bleach contributed to the observation as it was specially formulated for HE machines with a little higher bleach active level, slightly thicker consistency for easier pouring and special ingredients for extra whitening.

My best guess would be that the continual use of fabric softener is the culprit. The softener active deposits on the fabric leaving a slightly greasy material that provides a better "feel" after drying. Unfortunately, not all the softener is removed in the next wash. This is why the towels sometimes don't seem as absorbent over time, as the fibers are coated with the active and can't pick up as much water. Worse, this leftover residue can attract and hold dirt and body oils which the detergent can't remove. You might back off the softener and continue the hot water washes for a period to test this hypothesis.

Washing in hot water will get the maximum cleaning, so if you were washing in warm or cold, I would expect to see the problem even more. Lastly, it could be a change in water quality has occurred. Sometimes hard water and liquid detergents can lead to poorer cleaning.

Q. I just purchased 5 white uniform shirts with colored shoulder patches. I do not want to send them to the dry cleaners. How do you suggest I wash them? I am concerned that if I bleach the entire wash load, the color patches might bleed into my white shirt. Also, I work with a bleed-free black pen which accidentally stained my pocket. I have used the Clorox pen, and regular Clorox when I reached home, Spray N’ Wash and alcohol. Nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?

A. Thanks for your question, and thanks for the work that you do.

Let's work on each of the questions:

• To wash the new shirts requires that the wash solution be safe for all parts of the shirt. You are right to question whether the liquid bleach would cause the colored patches to bleed. Some colored items are bleachable. If you're not sure, I recommend consumers do the quick Bleachability Test (2 tspn Clorox® Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden colored 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. Any color change could also show you the amount of change in color that likely will occur if you proceed with the liquid bleach usage through the wash. You can see a demo on my blog (http://www.drlaundryblog.com) in the video Laundry 101. This will establish whether liquid bleach can be part of your regimen.


• You might reconsider your "No Dry-clean" option for the shirts, even with the extra cost. Even with normal washing in warm water with liquid detergent only, there is the possibility that the patches will "fade." If stains arise, or if you sweat a lot, this must also be dealt with. Then there is the question of ironing for a professional look. A lot more time/energy is involved with that. The drycleaner is prepared to deal with these types of situations and can help keep your shirts looking sharp with the pressing. Ask around as I know several cleaners offer discounts to officers.


• As for your ink stain, if the Clorox bleach and Bleach Pen didn't completely remove the stain, then your next approach is probably to use a solvent-based product. Alcohol is an example, but probably not right for this stain. I like GooGone. You will need 2 clothes—one for application and one for absorbing. Start at the outside edge and blot toward the middle of the stain with a saturated cloth; come from behind with the other clean cloth, and blot away the product (you are trying to dissolve the ink and transfer it to the dry cloth). Finally, pretreat with a milder oxygen bleach like our Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster (apply to any residual stain, rub in, wait 5 minutes) and then wash in the warmest water recommended on the care label with detergent and Clorox2. Check for success before drying as a second treatment may be needed. If the stain is still not removed, talk to your local drycleaner to see if he thinks it can be removed.

Q. I am renting a furnished house. It has off-white colored micro suede chairs and a sofa. These are getting a dingy look from everyday wear. I know they are not supposed to get wet to avoid water stains, but is there a way to clean them? I was thinking of trying a Clorox wipe, which wouldn’t get them saturated. Any suggestions?

A. Since you want to avoid water stains, you should be aware that almost any cleaning product that you purchase has water as its #1 ingredient, even Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes. Water is a universal solvent and is the base for laundry and cleaning products.

What you want is something that will remove the dirt, etc without the use of water much like a dry cleaner would use. They would use something that is solvent -based. I found the following website with a couple of ideas:

http://www.cleanyourmicrofiber.com/index.php/Microfiber_Cleaning_Products

Try them out and let me know how it goes!

Q. What is the best way to get blood stains out of colored cotton tops? I soaked these tops in cold water, then sprayed a stain remover on them, and then washed them in detergent. I did this twice, but the stains are still visible. I did not put the tops in the dryer. I now have them soaking in cold salt water, but I can still see the stains. Do you have any suggestions?

You've done a lot of the right things, especially using cool water and not dryer-drying. I suspect the residual stain you mention is from the blood protein, which is much harder to totally remove after it has dried.

Usually I recommend the items be presoaked in cool water (at least 30 to 60 minutes) using a good liquid detergent containing enzymes. The enzymes are used to break down the blood protein, but they aren't the quickest guys in the formula so thus the need to presoak. If the blood has dried, then they definitely need the extra time.

After the presoak, I would pretreat with a hydrogen peroxide, like our Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster (apply, rub into the stain, wait ~5 minutes), then wash the item in cool or warm water using detergent and Clorox2.

Finally, check for success after washing, but before drying as an additional treatment of the above steps may be needed.

Q. We had a water leak inside a wall (made of drywall). We’d like to know what to do to prevent mildew build up inside the wall that had the leak. We've cut a hole in the wall to get air in there, can we spray Clorox inside to kill any mildew?

A. Number one priority is to get the area dried out ASAP. The following is from our EPA label on Clorox® Regular-Bleach to deal with mildew and mold. It gets a little tricky since the wallboard is not a hard, nonporous surface, and since it's inside the wall, it’s tricky to know how to apply the solution. If you make the bleach solution and try to use a leftover spray bottle, the solution likely will react with the metal parts in the trigger and corrode them, making the bleach solution less effective and dispensing a brown colored liquid. Another approach would be to use the Clorox® Clean-Up® spray cleaner to apply a bleach solution. All the trigger parts are specially chosen to be bleach-compatible. I would re-spray the area every 2-3 days while the interior continues to dry.

Q. My daughter’s waterbed sprung a leak and everything that was saturated with the water now has a strong chemical odor. We have washed the items with regular laundry detergent, but the odor remains. The most important item I’d like to save is the bed spread. Do you have a recommendation?

A. I suspect that either the water had some type of preservative, and this is causing your issue, or that the water may have become “foul.”

You didn't say if the bedspread was bleachable or not. Some colored items are bleachable. If you're not sure, I recommend consumers do the quick Bleachability Test (2 tspn Clorox® Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden colored 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. Any color change could also show you the amount of change in color that likely will occur if you proceed with the liquid bleach usage. You can see a demo on my blog (http://www.drlaundryblog.com) in the video Laundry 101. If you proceed, do a quick liquid bleach soak (Add 1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in gallon of cool water for 5 minutes, or fill your washer enough to cover the bedspread; then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of bleach to the item.) then wash immediately in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Check for success after the wash cycle and before dryer-drying. It might require multiple treatments to get the desired result.

If not bleachable, I would first try a more mild oxygen bleach like our Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster. Again, first do a quick Bleachability Test ( apply a spot of Clorox2 to an inside seam, wait 2-3 minutes, blot dry and check for color change). I would consider a 1/2 to 1 hour presoak in the Clorox2 (see label for instructions) before washing it in the warmest water recommended on the care label with detergent and Clorox2. Check for success before drying, as you may need to do more than one treatment.

Q. We need to wash the rags we use in our metal shop that are oily from a WD-40 and kerosene mix. Can you suggest an additive or soap that will break down the oil so that the rags are clean and the drain doesn’t become clogged with the oil runoff?

A. That is a pretty potent mixture you're trying to cleanup. Since it is so highly concentrated with solvent, grease and oil, trying to wash them in a regular wash setting that is mostly water probably would yield not-so-good results. Even using industrial detergents wouldn't be enough to do a good cleaning job. Not only do you have to worry about the drain problems, but drying these solvent laden items could risk creating a fire/explosion.

What you need is a more solvent-like environment that can melt that mixture off the cloths and keep it suspended in solution to prevent re-deposition back onto the cloths. So I would recommend a professional service which will clean them (kind-of like a drycleaner) and return them clean for you.
Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

Q. My daughter’s waterbed sprung a leak, and everything that was saturated with the water now has a strong chemical odor. We have washed the items with regular laundry detergent but the odor remains. The most important item I’d like to save is the bed spread. Do you have a recommendation?

A. Thanks for your inquiry, and sorry about the mishap. I suspect that either the water had some type of preservative, and this is causing your issue, or the water inside the bed may have become "foul.”

You didn't say if the bedspread was bleachable or not. Some colored items are bleachable. If you're not sure, I recommend you try the quick Bleachability Test (2 tspn Clorox® Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden colored 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. Any color change could also show you the amount of change in color that likely will occur if you proceed with the liquid bleach usage. You can see a demo on my blog (http://www.drlaundryblog.com) in the video Laundry 101.

If you proceed, do a quick liquid bleach soak (1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in gallon of cool water for 5 minutes, or fill your washer with enough water to cover the bedspread; add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of bleach, then the item) then wash immediately in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Check for success after the wash cycle and before dryer drying. It might require multiple treatments to get the desired result.

If the item is not bleachable, I would first try a milder oxygen bleach like our Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster. Again, first do a quick Bleachability Test ( apply a spot of Clorox2 to an inside seam, wait 2-3 minutes, blot dry and check for color change). I would consider a 1/2 to 1 hour presoak in the Clorox2 (see label for instructions) before washing the item in the warmest water recommended on the care label with detergent and Clorox2. Check for success before drying, as you may more than one treatment.