Is it safe to use bleach to sanitize sippy cups and straws?

You CAN safely use a bleach solution to sanitize sippy cups! To make the bleach solution, add 1 Tablespoon Clorox^® Regular-Bleach to 1 gallon of water. To sanitize the sippy cups, disassemble all the different parts (mouthpiece, lid,straws, etc) and wash them with detergent and water first, and then let them soak in the bleach solution for two minutes. You may need to spin them around to make sure all surfaces contact the bleach solution for the full two minutes. When finished, you don’t need to rinse them, but they do need to air dry completely. This may be a little tricky for the straws, but if you prop them upright to make draining easier, that should help them drain and air dry.

I also want to clarify that we are in the process of concentrating our sodium hypochlorite based bleach products, so if you live in a part of the U.S. that has already converted over to the new Concentrated Clorox^® Regular-Bleach product, use 2 teaspoons bleach per gallon of water. The procedure and contact time are otherwise the same. Also, I am not sure if you are aware of this, but I wanted to note that you should only use the regular version of our bleach; the fragranced versions are not registered with the EPA and are not appropriate for sanitizing uses.

I am potty training and my children seem to have accidents. It can stink pretty bad and is hard to get the smell out in the laundry. It's not just in the underwear but in the blue jeans or pants they are wearing as well. I don't have an issue bleaching the underwear, but obviously don't want to bleach jeans or colored pants. What can I do to get rid of the smell?

Oh the memories… I noticed from your question that you said you are potty training children, so it sounds like you may have twins—it was a big enough challenge for me training one child at a time! I have some good news for you—more often than not, denim blue jeans can be safely laundered with Clorox^® Regular-Bleach. You can use the bleachability test to check first. Just add 2 teaspoons Clorox^® Regular-Bleach (or if you are using New Concentrated Clorox^® Regular-Bleach use 1 ½ teaspoons bleach) to ¼ cup water and apply a drop of that solution to a hidden part of the blue jeans (like inside the pocket facing, or the inside hem). Wait one minute then blot dry—no color change means you can safely bleach the blue jeans! You may also find that if the jeans fade slightly where the drop of test solution was applied, the color change is minimal and something you can live with. You can also use this test to confirm bleachability of the other colored pants—just don’t bother testing leggings or other pants that have spandex in them (check the care label) since spandex will yellow when bleached. Surprisingly, khaki pants are also often bleachable, just be sure to check first because it varies from brand to brand.

For pants that can’t be safely laundered with Clorox Regular-Bleach, unfortunately there isn’t an alternative product that sanitizes any and all colored laundry. To get the pants as clean as possible, first rinse away the solids prior to laundering. Select a hot wash temperature, and be sure to add the recommended amount of a good detergent. Adding Clorox2^® Stain Fighter and Color Booster along with your detergent will further improve cleaning. Finally, consider washing the pants alone to limit germ transfer to other items in the load. You may also want to try presoaking with Clorox2^®—fill the cap to line 1 and add to 2 gallons hot water. After rinsing away any solids, fully submerge the pants in the soaking solution and let soak for 1 hour. Drain the soaking solution, and then wash in hot water using detergent and Clorox2^®.

Of course you can also limit your kids to wearing only bleachable pants until they are potty trained!

My son has just recovered from the flu. Is it important to disinfect his bedding to prevent spreading the germs around the house or if a generic wash with detergent alone will do the trick?

After the flu, it is important to take the time to disinfect sheets, pillowcases, towels and clothes, to help prevent the spread of the viruses in your home. Washing with Clorox^® Regular-Bleach is a great way to fight germs, bacteria and viruses that can cause the common cold and flu in your clothes and linens. In a high efficiency washer, add ¾ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach to the dispenser (or fill dispenser to the max-fill line). Then, add your favorite detergent to its dispenser, select a disinfecting/sanitizing cycle if available and start the washer. In a standard washer, add ¾ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach along with detergent as the washer is filling with water, before adding the laundry. Or, use the bleach dispenser if your machine has one. To disinfect hand washables, soak items for 5 minutes in a solution of ¼ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach diluted in 1 gallon of cool water.

Don’t forget about the germs left behind when you catch a sneeze on your sleeve of your favorite fleece. Your jacket might be safely bleachable if the fiber content is 100% polyester, even if it’s colored. Simply apply 1 drop of a solution made of 2 teaspoons Clorox^® Regular-Bleach and ¼ cup water to a hidden part of the jacket, like an inside seam, cuff, or collar. Be sure to test all the different components. Wait 1 minute, then blot dry. No color change means the jacket can be safely bleached along with your bleachable white items.

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

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.

My basement flooded due to rain, with sewers over-flowing from outside and creek over-flow as well. What do I use to wash everything down with so it will be disinfected?

Below is information on disinfecting your basement with Clorox^® Regular-Bleach, but first I want to remind you how to work safely with bleach to solve such a severe problem. Because you have such a large area to clean, it is important you wear protective clothing and eyewear. A long sleeved shirt and pants that you can disinfect with bleach when you are finished are fine, and you can get some goggles at your local hardware store. You should also wear gloves, and be sure your basement is well ventilated while you are working.

From the Clorox^® Regular-Bleach EPA master label:

It is critical that your basement be allowed to thoroughly dry, and you may need a de-humidifier to accomplish that. Also, note that these instructions are for non-porous walls. If your basement is finished with sheetrock, you will need to remove the wallboard down to the studs to determine if the floodwaters seeped into the walls, and if necessary treat the area with the bleach solution to prevent future mold and mildew growth. More than one treatment may be desirable to complete the process, and remember that it is critical that everything be rinsed and allowed to dry thoroughly (use a de-humidifier if necessary). Finally, all other items in the basement should be treated with the disinfecting solution per above (check for bleachability on any items/areas of concern), or disposed of.

Is it safe to sanitize plastic blow-up pool toys with Clorox^® Regular-Bleach?

Happy 4^th of July! I hope everyone has a relaxing and fun-filled holiday. One common 4^th of July activity is a trip to the pool, but between the trek through the bathrooms to the time spent in the baby pool, blow-up pool toys can collect plenty of germs! Fortunately, blow-up pool toys that are made of vinyl or plastic can be sanitized with a solution of 1 tablespoon Clorox^® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water.  Wipe the bleach solution on, let stand 2 minutes, and then allow items to air dry (you don’t have to rinse them, similar to sanitizing food contact surfaces).  It will probably be easiest to do this when the toys are inflated.  Also, plan ahead and think about where you will be doing the washing and rinsing—if you will be doing this outdoors, you might want to get a large tarp to work on, use it to air dry the items on, and once you are finished just hose it off.  If the toys aren’t that big, you could also do this inside in your shower, taking care to close the door or curtain so the bleach solution doesn’t splash onto other items in your bathroom, and leave the items in the shower to air dry.

Note that if you are using the pool toys in a lake or reservoir with murky water, you may want to use a stronger solution to disinfect the toys: add ¾ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach to 1 gallon of water and apply the solution to the toys for 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and allow to air dry.  For this stronger solution, if you will be working outside water any nearby plants first to protect them from runoff.

Can I use Clorox^® Regular-Bleach to disinfect a children’s wading pool?

It is July and heat waves are hitting all over the country! Many of us want to cool off in a backyard pool, but we also want to make sure there is no dangerous bacteria lurking in these pools that do not have any filtration system in place. Thankfully, you can use Clorox^® Regular-Bleach to treat the water in a children's wading pool.  Below is information about this from the product's EPA Master Label that should help you determine how much bleach to add for your specific situation.  You will need to know the diameter of the kiddie pool in feet, and the depth of water you fill it with in inches.

WADING POOL DISINFECTION

This product - a 6.0% sodium hypochlorite solution containing approximately 5.7% available chlorine by weight - is a convenient, economical source of chlorine for water treatment in swimming and wading pools. Also, because this product is a liquid with no insoluble particles, it is especially suitable for this use.

When chlorinating wading pools, use 1/8 cup per 100 gallons of new water. Mix required amount of Clorox^® Regular-Bleach with 2 gallons of water and scatter over surface of pool. Mix uniformly with pool water. Empty small pools daily. (Clorox^® Regular-Bleach will not harm plastic pools.)

Do not reenter pool until the chlorine residual is between 1 to 3 ppm.

The chart below is a guide to the amount of this product to add to various sized round pools.

Pool Diameter:               4 Ft               6 Ft                 8 Ft                  10 Ft                 15 Ft

Depth of Water

6 inches                  1/16 cup          1/8 cup           1/4 cup              3/8 cup              3/4 cup

1 foot                     1/8 cup           1/4 cup           1/2 cup              3/4 cup            1 5/8 cups

2 feet                      1/4 cup           1/2 cup             1 cup              1 1/2 cups         3 1/4 cups

3 feet                      3/8 cup           3/4 cup          1 1/2 cups         2 1/4 cups            5 cups

Use the following table to be sure you measure the appropriate amount of bleach:

TABLE OF LIQUID MEASURES:

3 tsp = 1 Tbsp = 1/2 Ounce = 1/16 Cup

16 Tbsp = 8 Ounces = 1 Cup = 1/2 Pint

Stabilized pools should maintain a residual of 1.0 to 1.5 ppm available chlorine. Test the pH, available chlorine residual and alkalinity of the water frequently with appropriate test kits. Frequency of water treatment will depend upon temperature and number of swimmers.

Is it sanitary to wash white towels and dish cloths and underwear?

Whether or not you combine all your white bleachable items with your underwear into one load or separate a few items to wash depends on the condition of the underwear. If there are any fecal solids present then I would consider washing those items separately from kitchen towels and cloth napkins. Otherwise it's perfectly reasonable to combine all your white items into one load. That said here are some other considerations to make sure you are properly disinfecting your laundry:

1. Use 3/4 cup of bleach for a regular size load with an average soil level, and 1 ¼ cup for an extra-large or heavily soiled load.  Using less than the recommended amount will not provide the correct amount of bleach active to disinfect the load.

2.  Don't overload the washer with too much laundry. Items need to circulate or tumble freely through the wash water for optimum cleaning.

3.  Don't overload the washer with items that have excess stain remnants still on the fabric. In that case it's important to increase the amount of bleach to 1 1/4 cup or wash two smaller loads if you must use a bleach dispenser to add bleach to your washer and it limits the amount of bleach you can add.

My puppy came down with parvo. Can I use Clorox® on pine wood floors?

Regarding your wood floor, as long as it has a finish (in good condition) on it that effectively makes it a hard non-porous surface, a singular bleach treatment should be OK.  Even so, you should still test a small, less visible section first so you will know what to expect from the treatment.  Our EPA-registered protocol to kill canine parvovirus on hard non-porous surfaces is as follows: prepare a disinfecting solution of ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach and 1 gallon water.  Pre-wash the areas, then mop or wipe with the disinfecting solution.   Let stand for 10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and air dry.  Consider working in small sections to be sure you can manage rinsing quickly and efficiently, and be sure the room is well ventilated.  You should also wear eye protection and gloves because you will be working with the bleach solution for a prolonged period of time.

Q: Can I bath in bleach water?  

A:  Clorox® Regular-Bleach is NOT recommended for personal hygiene of any kind--consumers should always avoid direct skin and eye contacts with both undiluted bleach, as well as prolonged contact with the various bleach solutions we recommend for household cleaning and laundry.  Perhaps you are familiar with the instructions for using bleach for emergency treatment of drinking water.  That’s an entirely different situation.  For that, the bleach to water ratio is 1/8 teaspoon bleach per gallon of clear water, and the treated water has to stand for 30 minutes before drinking. During this time, the bleach kills any bacteria in the water before breaking down into salt and water.  While this solution is safe to drink, using a bleach and water solution for bathing is not approved by the EPA and should not be done.