Q: I left a measuring cup with liquid bleach in it for a few days. When I came back, it had crystallized.  I was wondering – can I still use it?  Should I just add water? 

A:  This is a really unusual question!  The crystals you found in your measuring cup are salt crystals; they are what remain after the bleach breaks down into salt + water, and the water evaporates.  The breakdown of bleach into salt and water is the primary reaction that makes it environmentally friendly.  However, it's not reversible – adding water to the crystals will just make salt water again, not bleach.  For your measuring cup, simply rinse away the crystals before using more bleach. 

Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Q: Can I dye blue jeans white with Clorox® Regular-Bleach?

A:  It really depends on how the jeans were made and what type of dye was used to color the blue yarns.  Depending on the dye class, the blue color could actually be safe for bleach.  On the other hand, if the blue color is from a fiber reactive dye, you probably could use bleach to strip the color, although not all the way to "white".  You can predict the outcome with a simple bleachability test:  add 2 teaspoons Clorox® Regular-Bleach to 1/4 cup water and apply a drop to a hidden part of the jeans, like the inside hem.  Wait 1 minute and then blot dry; a light colored spot predicts the color loss you can expect from bleach (typically 5 regular washes). 

If it looks like there will be some fading, you can try to speed things up by pre-soaking the jeans in a solution of 1/4 cup bleach per gallon of water for 5 minutes (make sure the jeans are completely submerged).  After 5 minutes, drain the soaking solution and then wash the jeans in a little detergent + 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  Air dry the jeans, and then repeat the treatments if you are making progress.

Q:  How do I get gasoline smell out of clothing?

A:  This is such an interesting question, and the answer needs to address more than just cleaning – there's a safety issue too.  If the clothes have a lingering gasoline smell, that means they probably have residual gasoline on them.  Clothes washer and dryer manufacturers don’t want oil or gasoline soaked items going into their appliances for cleaning because of the risk of spontaneous combustion, and they put a warning on the appliances and in the user’s guide to that effect.  Throwing away oil-saturated clothes is the safest course of action—check with your garbage service provider to see what they recommend for safe disposal before tossing any items away.

This isn’t very helpful, I realize, and that frustrates me—I also know that presoaking or pre-treating with a stronger de-greaser like Goo Gone® or De-Solve-it® should be effective at removing any residual gasoline, and consequently the smell.  You would need to test a hidden part of the items for colorfastness first, and then follow the manufacturer’s directions.  If you know how the gasoline got onto the clothes, and how much of it there was originally, that would also be helpful to you in deciding how to proceed.

I wish I could be more encouraging, but not knowing enough about your specific situation I really can only recommend discarding the items from a safety standpoint. 

Has anyone had any luck removing gasoline smells?

Q:  Is Clorox® Regular-Bleach safe to use on my granite countertops?

A:  Yes, Clorox® Regular-Bleach is safe for sealed granite countertops.  Remember, bleach should never be used full strength for cleaning any surface--it should always be diluted with water first.  For disinfecting countertops, use a solution of 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water.  Apply the bleach solution and let stand for 5 minutes, rinse thoroughly, and allow to air dry.

Q:  Can I use Clorox® Regular-Bleach on a slipcover that’s not solid white? I don’t mind if the bleach lightens the fabric, it’s just so soiled that I want it brighter.

A:  If the slipcover is cotton or cotton/polyester, then you can wash it with Clorox Regular-Bleach.  Here are some other considerations for how you can proceed.

1.  Wash in hot water using a good detergent and ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach.

2.  If the slipcover is very dirty, start by soaking the entire slipcover (and any cushion covers) fully submerged in a bleach solution of ¼ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water for 5 minutes.  Drain the soaking solution and then wash as described above.

3.  Avoid shrinkage—keep it out of the dryer.  Instead, put it back on the couch before it dries.  This is especially important for cushion covers, which need to be stretched over the cushions while still damp or they won’t fit back on again.

4.  If the slipcover is made of nylon or rayon, I would still expect it to be bleachable, but I would confirm this first with a bleachability test:  add 2 teaspoons bleach to ¼ cup water and apply a drop of this solution to a less-visible part of the slipcover.  Wait 1 minute and then blot dry—any color change will give you an idea what to expect if you bleach it.  In fact you may even want to do this if the slip cover is made of cotton, and you may also want to check any topstitching thread to see if that will shift color when bleached.

5.  If you decide you don’t want to use bleach on the slipcover, then I would try an overnight pre-soak using Powdered Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster.  Use 1 scoop per 2 gallons of very hot water—make sure the powder has completely dissolved and then add the slip cover to the soaking solution.  Make sure it is fully submerged (weight it down if you need to) and let it sit overnight or up to 8 hours.  Drain the soaking solution and then wash in hot water using detergent and more Clorox2®.  Air dry as described above.

Q:  My Clorox® Regular-Bleach has lost its odor, what is the shelf life of bleach?

A:  It’s important to keep track of how old your bleach is because yes, bleach doesn’t last forever!  When Clorox® Regular-Bleach is stored between 50°F and 70F° and away from sunlight, it will maintain label strength of the sodium hypochlorite active for up to 6 months (at this point hospitals should replace it).  After 6 months it starts breaking down into salt and water, but will still perform well for home consumer cleaning needs for up to a year.  Since it’s always diluted before use, you can just use a little more.  Beyond a year, it should be replaced because the rate of decomposition into salt and water really speeds up, a big part of why it’s so environmentally friendly.

The best way to identify the age of a bottle (people don’t always remember when they bought it!) is to use the production code stamped on the neck of the bottle, which typically looks like this:

A8116010

5813-CA3

The information on when the bleach was made is in the top line, which would be A8-1-160-10 if you added dashes.  You only need the first 6 digits and you read it from left to right as follows:

Plant Number—Last digit of year made—Day of the year made

         A8                              1                                   160

The bleach in this example was made in 2011 on June 9th, the 160th day of the year.

Readers – have you checked the date of your bleach recently?

Q:  I regularly use ammonia in my laundry, but when the whites won't come clean I use bleach.  Should I be worried about the ammonia and bleach interacting?

A:  Bleach and ammonia should NEVER be mixed since when the two combine, toxic gas is formed that could be fatal.  And it’s not just ammonia or products containing ammonia (like window cleaner) that can be a problem.  Therefore, as a general rule, bleach should not be mixed with other household cleaners such as toilet bowl cleaners, rust removers, and acids (vinegar, for example) since toxic gas can also form.

Washing your whites in hot water using a good detergent + ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach will give you excellent cleaning and whitening—definitely don’t add any ammonia!  For your other loads, you may want to try using Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster along with your regular detergent to give you improved cleaning and brightening.  Then you wouldn’t need to worry about ammonia carrying over into other loads – otherwise you should be running a clean out cycle after washing a load that contains ammonia.  Finally, take a look at how you are storing your ammonia and your bleach, and make they are kept apart so they can't combine together (for instance being knocked to the floor during an earthquake).

Have any readers switched from using ammonia to bleach and seen greater success?

Q:  Is it safe to use Clorox® Regular-Bleach on finished hardwood floors?

A:  Generally, Clorox® Regular-Bleach is suitable for disinfecting floors made of hard surfaces like ceramic tile, vinyl, and linoleum—not marble or other porous surfaces that aren’t safe for bleach.  Wood is porous, and generally we only recommend bleaching exterior finished wood surfaces, not interior hardwood floors.   Finish composition, quality, and the age of the floor vary from home to home making a general positive recommendation difficult to give.  Depending on your situation, a one-time only bleach treatment might be OK.  You would need to test a less-visible section of the floor first so you know how the treatment will affect the floor.

Another important clarification is that Clorox® Regular-Bleach should always be diluted when used; we never recommend using it full strength for cleaning any hard surface or fabric!  Here’s how you properly dilute it for disinfecting floors that are safe for bleach:

• Mix up a solution of ¾ cup bleach added to 1 gallon of water


• Wipe or wash the floor, and then apply the bleach solution, letting it stand for 5 minutes


• Rinse well and air dry

Do any of my readers have need to bleach their hardwood floors?  I’d be curious to know the reasons why.