Q: Does regular use of bleach damage the fabric?

A:  Fabrics naturally deteriorate just from wearing, washing, and drying; using bleach doesn’t accelerate this effect.  We have examined this extensively, evaluating a wide variety of white items commonly bleached:  socks, underwear, t-shirts, towels, bed sheets, dress shirts, and even baseball pants.  Items were washed and dried 50 times, and we found no significant difference in fabric strength between items washed with detergent and those washed in detergent and bleach.  So as long as your whites are safe for bleach (always avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather and spandex, even if they are white) you can use Clorox® Regular-Bleach in every load for the cleanest, whitest whites.

Q: Why I smell aluminum when I clean my heaters with Clorox® Regular-Bleach?

A:  I'm actually not sure!  Are these radiant heaters in an older home, or the registers on the floor or wall of a forced air heating system, or a portable electrical heater?  I suspect that there is some component of the heater you are trying to clean that is made from aluminum (like ductwork, for example), which is one of the materials that Clorox Regular-Bleach should NOT be used to clean because the bleach reacts with the metal and can cause discoloration.  I also wonder what concentration of bleach solution you are using for cleaning.  Just to clarify, full-strength Clorox® Regular-Bleach should never be used to clean anything--it should always be diluted.  If you have aluminum surfaces to clean, you may want to try Clorox® Outdoor Bleach Cleaner, which has some additional ingredients for cleaning outdoor surfaces. Ingredients include corrosion inhibitors and cleaning agents that make it suitable for cleaning aluminum.  Be sure to follow the label instructions and use the proper dilution for what you want to clean, including testing a small area to ensure the dilution is compatible. 

Does anyone use Clorox® Outdoor Bleach Cleaner?

Q:  My son's white 100 percent polyester soccer uniform is dirt-stained.  How can I safely bleach it?

A:  I have good news for you: polyester fibers can be safely bleached with Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  Chances are the shirt also has a player number and maybe even a name.  If those components are screen prints, then they should also be bleachable.  If they are sewn on, then as long as the shirt’s care label says “100 % polyester” and not “100% polyester exclusive of trim” then the shirt should still be bleachable and you can proceed as follows:

• Start by rinsing away loose soil and ground-in dirt. 


• If the shirt is really dirty, then you could use a bleach soaking solution to really jump start cleaning.  For this, use ¼ cup bleach per gallon of water and fully submerge the shirt for 5 minutes. 


• Drain the soaking solution and then wash the shirt in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent + ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. 


• If you have localized dirt stains, you could skip the bleach soak and instead pretreat the stains directly using Clorox® Bleach Pen Gel—rub a little of the gel into the stains and then immediately wash the shirt using detergent + ¾ bleach. 

Q:  How do I bleach out all the color from a blue jumpsuit?  I need a white costume?

A:  This sounds like a great project--I would love to know what the final costume will be.  You might be able to use Clorox® Regular Bleach to strip the blue color from your jumpsuit if the dye is not color fast.  You can test first by applying a drop of a solution of 2 teaspoons bleach added to 1/4 cup water.  Wait 1 minute and then blot dry.  Normally at this point I advise that "no color change means the item can be safely bleached" but in your case, a loss of color indicates that a bleach soak should remove the color.  In this case, you would proceed by soaking the jumpsuit, fully submerged, in a solution of 1/4 cup bleach per gallon of water.  Rinse thoroughly, and let the jumpsuit air dry.  At this point, you can assess your progress, and if necessary, repeat the treatment.  You could also try RIT Color Remover, and may be effective if the blue dye cannot be extracted with Clorox® Regular-Bleach.

Here are some additional tips:

• If the jumpsuit is made of polyester or a poly/cotton blend, you probably cannot strip the color since polyester is most commonly colored before it is made into fibers.


• If the jumpsuit is constructed with polyester thread, you may get the fabric white but any thread that shows will remain blue.


• If the jumpsuit contains any spandex (Lycra) the bleach soak will damage it, so if this is the case a bleach soak is not an option.


• The jumpsuit may change color instead of losing color with the bleach treatment.  For example, blue can shift to yellow or even pink after bleaching.


• Repeating bleach treatments to achieve a desired result is more effective than working with a stronger-than-recommended concentration that is not safe for fabric in the long run.


• If you end up with a "cream" colored jumpsuit you might be able to get it to white with an overnight pre-soak in Clorox2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster.

Q:  I use bleach to sanitize, as well as whiten, my whites.  How can I sanitize bedding, towels, and underwear that are bright or dark colors?

A:  Unfortunately, there are currently no products that disinfect all colored laundry.  Our Clorox2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster contains hydrogen peroxide as its active ingredient, which is a much weaker bleach than sodium hypochlorite, the active ingredient in Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  So Clorox2® is color-safe for pretty much all your washable colored items, but doesn’t meet EPA disinfecting requirements.  You may, however, be able to safely launder your colored items with Clorox® Regular-Bleach (as long as the fabric is bleachable—always avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather, and spandex).  You can check colored items you aren’t sure about with a simple bleachability test:

• Dilute 2 teaspoons bleach in ¼ cup water.


• Apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of the sheets, like the hem that gets tucked in at the foot of the bed.  For multicolored items be sure to check each color.


• Wait 1 minute then blot dry.  No color change means the item can be safely bleached.

• Wash items you are concerned about separately to help prevent germs from spreading to other items—this can occur in the washer and when transferring/handling from the washer to the dryer.


• Wash/dry items of concern twice to further reduce the bacteria count.


• Make the next load a white/bleach load to sanitize the clothes washer.

Q:  Can I add bleach to the rinse cycle?

A: The short answer:  it depends!  If your clothes washer is a traditional top loading deep-fill washer with one rinse cycle, then no, you do not want to add bleach to the rinse cycle because there will be residual bleach left over that could cause dye damage in the next load.  However, if you have a HE washer that has multiple rinse cycles, then you can add bleach to the first rinse cycle.  In that case, 1/3 - 1/2 cup is a good amount to add, and I do this occasionally for heavily soiled loads in my HE washer.  It's a great way to get a little extra bleach (in addition to the 3/4 cup added to the wash cycle) into the machine for added cleaning. However, make sure there are at least 2 rinses in a HE washer following any bleach addition. 

Do any readers currently add a little extra bleach during the rinse cycle?