Q:  Does Clorox® Regular-Bleach have an expiration date and if yes, where is it found?

A:  It’s great you are paying attention to 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 it will still work well for the home consumer 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 speeds up, which is a big part of why it’s environmentally friendly.

The best way to identify the age of a bottle is to use the production code stamped on the neck of the bottle, which typically looks like this:

A8116010

5813-CA3

The top line provides the information on when it was produced, 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.  If any readers have other questions, or a specific production code you are wondering about, please let me know!

Q:  Can you use Clorox Regular-Bleach® on a newborn’s clothes?

A:  I have good news – you can definitely use Clorox® Regular-Bleach to launder newborn clothing, bedding, car seat liners…you name it!  However, the items do need to be made of fibers that can be safely bleached.  Start by checking the labels and don’t use bleach on any items containing wool, spandex, silk, mohair, and leather.  For any colored items, you need to check their colorfastness to bleach via a bleachability test:

• Dilute 2 teaspoons bleach in ¼ cup water.


• Apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of the items.  Inside hems, cuffs, under collars, and seams work well.  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.

I expect that you will have good luck with items made of polyester fleece and items where the color is printed onto the fabric, plus some denim clothing.  It comes down to what dye is used and how it is applied. 

Wash the items that pass the bleachability test in detergent + ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  Your clothes washer should adequately rinse the bleach from the clothes, but you can also select an extra rinse cycle if you prefer.  Hopefully this is helpful!

Are any other readers first time parents?

Q:  How do I mix a 1:30 ratio?

A:  Basically a 1:30 ratio means 1 part bleach to 30 parts water.  How you measure a “part” depends on how much bleach solution you want to end up with.  Let’s say you want approximately 1 gallon of bleach solution.  1 gallon = 16 cups = 32 half-cups, which is close to 30.  So to end up with close to a gallon of bleach solution, you would add ½ cup of bleach to 30 half cups of water (which is the same as 15 cups, or 1 gallon minus 1 cup).  On the other hand, if you only want a small amount, then you could add 1 Tablespoon bleach to 30 tablespoons water (which is the same as 2 cups minus 2 Tablespoons since there are 16 tablespoons in a cup).  This will give you almost 2 cups of a 1:30 bleach solution.  Hopefully this helps!

Readers, what size bleach solution do you normally make at one time?

Q:  Can I use Clorox to remove or prevent stains on my laundry?  They are sort of rust colored and may be from our well hard water. 

A:  That’s too bad about the rust stains in your laundry, and that you have hard water.  Unfortunately rust stains can NOT be removed with Clorox® Regular-Bleach (or any chlorine bleach for that matter).  You need to use a rust remover product instead, and these can be found at hardware stores. Just be sure to read and follow the package directions, including testing items for colorfastness to the rust remover, and wearing gloves.

I would also consider installing a water filtration/softener system for your clothes washer—the brown stains you are getting indicate that your well water includes metals (probably iron and manganese) in addition to higher concentrations of calcium and magnesium.  Until they are removed, using bleach will exacerbate the problem.  Improving water quality will get you better laundry results in the long run and is worth it! 

Does anyone else suffer from hard water stains?

Q:  Can I use outdoor bleach for laundry?

A:  This is an interesting question!  In general, for your ongoing laundry bleaching needs, I would stick with Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  I am guessing you have a bottle of Clorox® Outdoor Bleach Cleaner that you would like to use up. In that case, it would probably be fine to use it for laundry as long as you have a top loading deep-fill clothes washer.  If you have an HE washer, you have a greater chance of having high sudsing (the outdoor bleach includes surfactants) depending on the soil level of what you are washing , which could actually cushion the clothes as they tumble through the wash water and reduce cleaning.  If this is the case, then you might want to use up the Outdoor Bleach to clean your toilets. 

Note that even with a standard washer, I would still monitor the cycle for oversudsing. Also remember that the same instructions for using regular bleach apply--avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather, spandex, and non-bleachfast colors.  Never apply the product full strength to anything, but instead be sure to always dilute it.  Adding it to the clothes washer along with the detergent as the machine is filling, but before the clothes are added, is a great way to safely launder with bleach.

Have any readers used outdoor bleach for their laundry?  I’d love to hear about it!

Q:  My baby started eating food and his clothes have some food stains, how do I remove them?

A:  Congratulations on your new baby!  Baby food stains really benefit from pre-treating, but first be sure to scrape away excess stain (think pureed vegetable globs like sweet potatoes), and then rinse the stain with a little cool water.  Be careful not to rub the stain further into the fabric. I am sure you have both white and colored items to clean, so here are some good techniques for both:

If the item is white:

• Rub stain gently with Clorox® Bleach Pen® Gel immediately before laundering.


• Wash immediately in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach.

If the item is colored (or made from a fiber on the do not bleach list):

• Apply Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster directly to the stain, and rub in.


• Wait 3-5 minutes, but don’t let it dry on the fabric.


• Wash immediately in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and Clorox2®.

After washing, air dry the items and check for success.  This is a general technique that I always advise. Stubborn stains that are partially removed can often be treated again, and you increase your chance of eventual success if you don’t heat-set any residual stain in a hot dryer.

Does anyone else have some new baby stains for which they need help removing?

Q:  I workout often, and it seems some shirts have a permanent odor of sweat or mold. Will Clorox 2® help on my colored laundry?

A:  The bleach active in Clorox2®, hydrogen peroxide, is a gentle bleach, making it safe for almost all washable colored items.  However, it doesn’t meet EPA disinfecting requirements, and so it won’t kill the germs on your workout clothes like Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  You may actually be able to use Clorox® Regular-Bleach to safely wash some of your workout clothes provided they are colorfast to bleach and don’t contain any spandex.  You’ll need to check the items with a quick bleachability test as follows:

• Mix a test solution by diluting 2 tsp Clorox® Regular-Bleach in ¼ cup water


• Apply a drop to a hidden part of the item such as an inside hem, cuff, or seam.  Wait one minute and then blot dry


• No color change means the item can be safely bleached

For items that don’t pass the bleachability test, you can try the following techniques to at least reduce the germ count.

• Always wash in the hottest water recommended on the item’s care label.


• Pre-soak with Clorox2® before washing.  Dissolve 1 scoop of the powder in 2 gallons hot water; fully submerge the items for up to 8 hours or overnight.  Drain the soaking solution before washing.


• Wash any items of particular concern separately from other items to avoid germ transfer


• Use the hottest dryer setting recommended on the care label, and dry items separately - or at least with some white towels so the items tumble properly in the dryer.

Periodically run a washer clean-out cycle with an empty washer and ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach to be sure the clothes washer is disinfected and germs don’t transfer to other loads. 

Do any readers have suggestions on eliminating gym clothes odor?

Q: Bleach sometimes affects my asthma when I clean with it; how much liquid bleach do you recommend when mopping floors?

A: You probably know this, but it’s always good to clarify:  Clorox® Regular-Bleach should always be diluted when used—we never recommend using it full strength for cleaning any hard surface or fabric! 

For mopping floors (ceramic tile, vinyl, linoleum—not marble or other porous surfaces that aren’t safe for bleach), mix up a solution of ¾ cup bleach added to 1 gallon of water.  For disinfecting, wipe or wash the floor, then apply the bleach solution and let stand for 5 minutes.  Rinse well and air dry.  Also, be sure the area is well ventilated while you are working.

How many readers like using bleach when mopping floors?

Q: At what air temperature is the efficacy of Clorox® Regular-Bleach effected?  How low can the temperature be for proper storage?

A: Thanks for the great question.  Here’s a little background on the shelf life of Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  The active ingredient, sodium hypochlorite, naturally breaks down into salt and water, and the hotter the temperature the bottle is stored at, the faster the decomposition.  Generally, bleach stored at room temperature (~70°F) maintains its label strength active level (6% sodium hypochlorite) for approximately 6 months before starting to degrade into salt and water.  Note that for EPA registered disinfectant uses, you should always use bleach at label strength, which usually means no more than 5 months past the purchase date, with the bottle having been properly stored.  Regarding what the lowest temperature is for proper storage of Clorox, the product should not be allowed to freeze.

Readers, how do you store your Clorox® Regular-Bleach?

Q: My wife put Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster in the bleach dispenser.  Will that hurt my washer?  If so, what can I do to fix the problem?

A: No, Clorox2® will not damage your washer if added in the bleach dispenser.  Your wife, however, should not do this on an ongoing basis, depending on the design of your dispenser.  The Clorox2® will not be adequately rinsed into the washer and could plug any tubing between the dispenser and washer drum.  Flushing the bleach dispenser line with very hot tap water several times should remove any residue.  Do this while your washer is empty so you can pour several quarts of hot water through the dispenser, then manually select a rinse/drain option and let the cycle finish. 

Readers – How do you use Clorox2®?