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:  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:  Something in the wash load faded onto white clothes and partially white clothes.  How can I get rid of the unwanted color?  Do I need to do something different if the fabric says "use non chlorine bleach"?

A:  What you describe sounds like dye transfer and you should be able to restore any bleachable items with a bleach soaking solution.  Start by figuring out if any of the partially white items are safely bleachable (even if they are labeled "only non-chlorine bleach").  First, check the care label and eliminate any items that include wool, silk, mohair, spandex, and leather--these should never be bleached.  For the remaining items, check for colorfastness to bleach with this simple bleachability test: dilute 2 teaspoons Clorox® Regular-Bleach in ¼ cup water; apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of the each item (like a hem, cuff, collar, or inside seam); wait 1 minute then blot dry. No color change means the item can be safely bleached.  For the white items, and any partially colored items that passed the bleachability test, try soaking them in a solution of ¼ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach diluted in 1 gallon cool water for up to 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.  Air dry the items, and check for success (it’s important to keep the items out of the dryer so the heat doesn’t set any remaining dye).  Hopefully the fugitive color will be gone, but if it is lighter, then repeat the bleach soak again.  However, if the bleach soak leaves the dye transfer color unchanged, then you may need to try Rit® Color Remover, which can usually be found at drug and hardware stores. 

Has anyone had success removing dye transfer?

Q:  We used Clorox 2® to get pizza sauce out of our daughter’s school uniform.  While it took out the stain, it left a blue stain. How do I get it out?

A: It sounds like liquid Clorox2® was applied directly to the stain (which is good for improved stain removal), but stayed on the fabric too long before being washed.  We typically recommend 3-5 minutes (depends on the type of stain and its severity) for pre-treating before washing an item.  This allows enough time for the surfactants and hydrogen peroxide to work in concentrated form, but not so much time that the colorant and brighteners permanently dye the area where the stain was treated. Additionally, the product should never be allowed to dry on the fabric, since the stain left behind (a combination of blue colorant and brighteners) is nearly impossible to remove.  There’s a chance you might be able to remove the blue colorant by soaking the uniform (if it’s white) in a solution of ¼ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water, for up to 5 minutes before thoroughly rinsing.  Any residual blue color left after this process, is concentrated brightener that reflects light off the fabric in the blue spectrum.  How successful you will be depends on how long the liquid Clorox2® was originally on the fabric.

If the uniform is colored, you still might be able to safely bleach it.  To check, add 2 teaspoons Clorox® Regular-Bleach to ¼ cup water and apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of the garment; wait 1 minute then blot dry. No color change means the item can be safely bleached.  If it passes, then you can try soaking the uniform as described above.

Q:  What is the best way to get machine oil off my husband’s work shirts after they have sat in a hamper for two days?

A:  With dark, grimy machine oil it's important to use a good solvent to dissolve the oil stains, preferably before they are wet from the wash water, so pre-treating is important.  Checking for colorfastness is also important, and you can do that as follows:

1. Apply a drop on a hidden part of the garment like a hem, inside seam or cuff.


2. Wait 1 minute then rinse and blot with a towel.


3. If there is no color change then you can safely use the product on the item.

With that, here are some suggestions:

• Apply a good liquid laundry detergent or even dishwashing detergent, like Dawn, degreaser, Stanley or Goo Gone. Rub into the stain and let sit 3-5 minutes. This helps solubilize the grease/oil/fluids and jumpstarts removal. Hopefully the stains are localized and not spread out all over, which makes pre-treating more difficult.


• Always wash in the hottest water recommended on the care label. The hotter the water, the better the removal.


• Don’t underuse detergent—you probably need a little extra. Remember you are trying to “pull” the grease/oil off the fabric and once it’s removed you want it to stay in the wash water and NOT redeposit back onto the clothes. This is one of the jobs of the surfactants in detergents.


• Finally, air dry the items and check for success.  You have a much better chance of completely removing the stains if they are not heat set in a dryer.  You can retreat if necessary. 

Readers – have you experienced trouble with machine oil stains?  What’s worked best for you?

Q:  I need some help with clothes flooded in Hurricane Irene, in particular items that cannot go in hot water (delicate fabrics).  How do I handle them?  There is not a lot of mud, but water came reached them and wicked into the fabric.

A:  Watching the images on TV of the storm damage from Irene is really sobering, and I have been thinking about the people who have the daunting task of cleaning up.  Hopefully the flood waters you encountered were not contaminated, and your household water supply is safe for human consumption and skin contact.  Note that if your incoming water is not yet safe for drinking, you should not use it for any laundry unless you are hand-washing and using bleach.  Bleach needs to be added to both the wash and rinse water.  Thankfully it sounds like you have passed this hurdle.  Unfortunately, there is currently not a product for disinfecting any and all colored laundry items or fabrics made from wool, silk, mohair, spandex and leather.   Clorox2® has a different bleach active, hydrogen peroxide, which is a much weaker bleach and therefore safe for colors.  However, it doesn’t meet EPA disinfecting requirements.

To guarantee disinfection, you will need to wash as many items as possible with detergent + ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in the hottest water recommended on the care label, so figuring out which of your items can be safely bleached is an important first step.  There actually are many colored fabrics than can be safely bleached, and it depends on which type of dye was used to color the fabric.  Also, “delicate” fabrics can often be bleached as long as they are not made from the fibers listed above.  Cotton and nylon underwear, for example, are delicate and perfectly bleachable from a fiber standpoint.  For colored items that you are unsure about, you can easily test bleachability 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 and then blot dry


• No color change means the item can be safely bleached.  A color change shows what to expect following approximately five cycles with bleach.

I have had success safely bleaching light colored linens and towels, and 100% polyester fleece, to name a few.  Also, you only need to bleach your flood damaged items once.  Some of them could probably handle one wash cycle with bleach, but would fade after 5 cycles (blue jeans often can handle occasional bleach washing).  Because of the severity of the situation (and the possibility that your clothing could have been exposed to contaminated water), it would be worth it to try to bleach as many items as you can.  However, there are items that you simply can’t bleach, and for those you can try the following techniques to reduce the germ count as much as possible:

• Wash in hot water even if it is not what’s recommended on the care label.  This is especially important if your hot water heater is set at a lower temperature.


• Wash any items of particular concern separately from other items to avoid germ transfer, and consider washing them twice


• Use the hottest dryer setting recommended on the care label.


• Air dry items made from wool outdoors in the sun.

Follow up with a washer clean-out cycle (running one cycle with the washer empty) with ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach to be sure the clothes washer is disinfected and germs don’t transfer to other loads.  Hopefully you can restore as many of your flood damaged non-bleachable items as possible. 

I also have some additional disaster preparedness bleach tips that might be helpful:

• If water supplies are compromised and you are unable to boil water for one minute (3 minutes at high elevation) you can create potable water by using regular liquid bleach. Add 1/8 teaspoon (8 drops) of bleach to one gallon of water. Let sit for 30 minutes. Properly treated water should have a slight chlorine odor. If not, repeat dosage and let sit another 15 minutes. Use ¼ teaspoon of bleach (16 drops) for cloudy water.


• Disinfect surfaces, like counter tops, by first washing away all visible dirt. Apply a disinfecting solution of ¾ bleach per gallon of water. Let the solution stand for 5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and let air dry.


• Make a family preparedness plan for communication in the event of an emergency. Put together an emergency preparedness kit that includes food, water (at least 1 gallon per person per day) a first aid kit, flashlight, radio, personal documents and sanitation supplies such like regular liquid bleach.


• In the wake of disaster, there is much to do as you assess the health and safety of your household as well as next steps to rebuild your life.  The first thing you’ll want to do is check communication channels to ensure that local officials have declared it safe to return home. When home, cleaning up after a natural disaster can be a daunting task so it’s important keep your health top of mind using these steps:
  
  
  
  • Before entering the home, look outside for loose power lines, damaged gas lines, foundation cracks or other damage
  
  
  • During cleanup, wear protective clothing, including rubber gloves and rubber boots
  
  
  • Look for flooding or large pools of standing water surrounding your home. These waters can be contaminated with high levels of bacteria that can make you sick, so disinfecting with a solution of bleach and water may help prevent the spread of infections and illness
  
  
  
  

Q:  When I wash my bath cloths the dark stains don’t come out, what is the problem?

A:  I wish I had a little more information—do you mean wash cloths and/or towels?  I realize you may not know what the stain is—this happens when you don’t notice a stain until later!  But for a bath towel, here are a few possibilities: blood from shaving accidents, mildew from towels sitting damp in the laundry hamper, and oil from lotions or creams are all possibilities.  It would be great if your towels are white, and the stains haven’t been “set” in a hot dryer—once stains are exposed to dryer heat they become extremely difficult to remove.  Even so, for white towels you could try a pre-soak with ¼ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water.  Let the towels soak for 5 minutes, then drain the soaking solution and run the towels through a hot wash cycle with detergent plus ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  It may be necessary to repeat the treatment if the stains are set in.

If you think the stains are oily, then you will need to pre-treat the dark area with a little liquid dishwasher detergent first—rub it in and wait 5 minutes.  Then, if the towels are white, wash in hot water with detergent plus ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach.

If your towels are colored, you can do a quick bleachability test: add 2 teaspoons Clorox® Regular-Bleach to ¼ cup water.  Apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of the colored item (hems, cuffs, and inside seams work well).  Wait 1 minute, then blot dry.  No color change means the item can be safely bleached.  If they don’t, and the stains are mildew, it will be difficult to remove them without bleach.  Repeated washing in hot water with detergent and Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster may help you make some progress. 

Readers – do you have white or colored towels? How do you remove stains from them?

Q:  Can mold stains be removed?

A:  Yes, but moldy textiles need to be treated right away to help keep the problem from getting worse.  Are your items bleachable?  If you are not sure you can do a quick bleachability test: add 2 teaspoons Clorox® Regular-Bleach to ¼ cup water.  Apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of the colored item (hems, cuffs, and inside seams work well).  Wait 1 minute, then blot dry.  No color change means the item can be safely bleached.  For these items, the following approaches should work:

• Wash immediately in hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach


• If the problem is bad, consider doing a Clorox® Regular-Bleach soak (1/4 cup liquid bleach per gallon of cool water and soak for 5-10 minutes).  Then wash in hot water with detergent and liquid bleach

For non-bleachable colors or non-bleachable fabrics (like wool, silk, mohair, leather, and spandex) it’s problematic to remove mold since the best mold and mildew killers are products with sodium hypochlorite.  Even so, you can try the following:

• Carefully brush off any obvious spores and then wash in the warmest water recommended on the care label with detergent and an oxygen bleach like our Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster


• Try a 1 hour presoak with Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster following label instructions

Readers – how do you handle mold stains on your clothing?

Q:  How much Clorox® Regular-Bleach should I use when it comes to colored clothes? And should I add my dark clothes before or after adding Clorox® Regular-Bleach to the water?

A:  To bleach colored items, it’s important to check their colorfastness to bleach first, and you can do this easily with this simple bleachability test: dilute 1 teaspoon Clorox® Regular-Bleach in ¼ cup water.  Apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of the colored item (hems, cuffs, and inside seams work well).  Wait 1 minute, then blot dry.  No color change means the item can be safely bleached.  The correct amount to use for an average load is ¾ cup.

As far as when to add bleach, the main thing you want to avoid is having undiluted bleach accidentally contact your clothes.  This is important for white or bleach fast colored items.  So yes, adding bleach to the washer while it is filling, and before any of the load is added, is a great way to easily and safely add bleach.  It’s also good to swirl the agitator to mix the bleach in a little first before the load is added, and adding the load when the washer is about half-filled.  Also, using a measuring cup not only ensures that you are using the correct amount, but also helps prevent any spillage.

Do any readers use Clorox® Regular-Bleach on their colored clothing?

Q: How would you suggest I remove tough crude oil stains / smells from 100% cotton colored work shirts? Having a real solution to this question would be very beneficial to know for our Crude Oil Drivers & their families.

A: Boy, this a tough question, but one my sister in Texas has asked about before. The key is the crude oil definitely needs a good solubilizer/solvent to dissolve the oil stains, preferably before they are wet from the wash water. The more that's removed, the more the odor problem should be reduced.

The other potential issue is COLORED cotton. This means that any product should be checked for "compatibility" with the dyes and direct application will not cause dye removal/fading in the treated areas. Use our modified Bleachability Test:

• Apply a drop on a hidden color section area like inside seam, hemline or cuff.


• Wait 1 minute, rinse and then blot with towel.


• If no color change, it means it is safe to use the product on the item.

Here are some additional suggestions:

• Since grease and water don't mix, consider pretreating first. Apply a good liquid laundry detergent, like Liquid Tide, or even dishwashing detergent, like Dawn, or degreaser, like Stanley or Goo Gone. Rub into the stain and let sit 3-5 minutes. This helps solubilize the grease/oil/fluids and jumpstarts removal. The new 2X liquid detergents are more concentrated and so they probably will work well here. Hopefully, the stains are localized and not too big an area, which make pretreating much more labor intensive.


• Always wash in the HOTTEST water recommended on the care label. The hotter the water the better the removal.


• I would wash these items separate from other laundered items to eliminate the possibility of transfer/re-deposition onto other family member's clothes.


• Use at least the recommended amount of detergent, maybe a little extra. Remember you are trying to "pull" the grease/oil off the fabric and once it's removed you want it to stay in the wash water and NOT redeposit back onto the clothes. This is one of the jobs of the surfactants in these detergents. So don't scrimp!


• I might be tempted to extend the wash cycle time. With a top-loading washer, you can wait 6-8 minutes into the cycle, stop the washer and spin the dial back to start for another full 10-12 minutes.


• Finally, check for success at the end of the washcycle BEFORE the items go into the dryer. If not satisfactorily removed, you can retreat them. Put them in the dryer and you may be driving the oils into the fibers, which makes removal in the future very difficult/impossible.


• If this doesn't work, then the other alternative would be commercial dry cleaner where they use solvents as the basis for there cleaning.