I thought it might be a good time to quickly review some of the special properties of Clorox Bleaches. Some of you may have seen the Sunday insert/coupon and logged on to check out my blog. I try to provide a quick source of laundry and product knowledge and allow you to provide comments or ask questions.

Whitest Whites Patented Technology

You may have seen this banner on some of our bleach labels and wondered what this is all about. Clorox scientists have known for some time that the wash water contains a variety of minerals and metals like iron and manganese that are introduced by water supplies, stains and soils. Unfortunately, these can react with sodium hypochlorite, our bleach active, and form color bodies that deposit and discolor/yellow clothes. The good news is we also found a special polymer, polyacrylate, that acts like a sponge in the wash water to quickly complex or tie-up the metals so they can NOT react with the hypochlorite or deposit on your clothes. Being the smart guys that we are, we patented this discovery and started using the best polymer in Clorox Bleaches. That means no other bleach, private label, store, warehouse, etc. will have this material and be able to protect your clothes like Clorox does. Thus, Whitest Whites Patented Technology is your assurance that you’re getting the best liquid bleach performance when you buy Clorox bleaches.

A couple of other reasons:

• Over the years, Clorox has developed superior manufacturing techniques and quality control to insure that your bleach will be the best that we can make it. We are especially proud of our proprietary filtration process that removes impurities so your bleach won’t expire prematurely or produce oxygen in the bottle leading to bulging and bottles that can rock and tip over. We also manufacture in a variety of locations to help insure you will have fresh bleach on shelf to buy.


• Finally, we have been viewed as the gold standard for disinfecting and emergency usage. We were the first hypochlorite bleach to be EPA registered and people feel comfortable knowing that Clorox Regular-Bleach will be there to provide their disinfecting and emergency water purification needs.

Q: I have a 56-year-old hand crocheted ruffled doily I made. I washed it, and then stretched it to shape it on a piece of foam broad that I had drawn circles and straight lines on as a guide for stretching. I covered the board with waxed paper before pinning down the doily to shape. While shaping and pinning, I sprayed it with heavy starch that comes in an aerosol can. After getting the doily all shaped and pinned in place, I then took a Liquid Starch that come in a bottle, using it full strength and with a brush I brushed it all over the doily. Then let it to dry. Now here is my problem. When it dried it, I noticed in some areas on the ruffle section that it now has a yellowish stain color where the line drawing on the board some how bled through. My question is: can I safely use Clorox bleach on it to see if the stains will come out? If so, what solution amount would you suggest? By the way the doily is made with crochet cotton thread. Will be anxiously waiting for your reply.

A: That's a very OLD doily! The yellow transfer is a part of the ink outline and may be removed using a soak with Clorox Regular-Bleach (1/4 cup/gallon for 5 minutes) and then a hot water wash with detergent and Clorox Regular Bleach. Another option might be trying the Clorox Ultimate Care Bleach which is thicker and lower in bleach content. It can be poured directly on bleachable items, kind of like a pre-treat. Let it set ~5 minutes then a hot water wash with detergent and Clorox Ultimate Care. After either approach, check to be sure it is removed BEFORE you dry the doily. If not, repeat the treatment again.

Q: When I launder my whites with Clorox, they tend to smell like bleach afterwards. Is there any way to get rid of the bleach smell on my whites?

A: The bleach smell is one of those things that you either LOVE, because it means clean to many consumers... Or others, like you, may like the benefits of bleach but would like to not have the left behind bleach smell. Simple solution....Try our Clorox UltimateCare Bleach. It's thicker with lower bleach level and a TERRIFIC Soft Cotton scent. You'll notice the difference as soon as you take the garment from the washer.

Q: I have 26 - 85% polyester, 15% spandex little league football pants that are 75% white and 25% dark blue, and full of dirt, grime and grass stains. I put liquid Clorox 2 on the stains and let them sit a little too long, and the white went yellow. How do I get them back to white? Please help! I’m a coach in trouble with kids and parent organization.

A: The yellow is from allowing the Liquid Clorox 2 to dry out on the fabric. Unfortunately, once this occurs, the Clorox 2 brightening agent has become affixed to the garment and is slowly removed with repeated washing. You might try re-applying the Clorox 2 and then re-washing within 3-5 minutes in the warmest water recommended for the garment. It might re-solubilize some of the brightener, but doubtful for all of the brightener. It’s possible this will make it less obvious and usable while repeated washing will help slowly remove the problem over time.

Q: I wash my rags with the presoak cycle extra long cleaning cycle and use bleach. They still come out looking dirty. Thanks for getting back to me.

A: Great idea to use the bleach presoak for extra stain removal boost. Not sure what you are wiping up with those rags, but there are a lot of stains and soils that bleach alone can NOT remove. Greasy stains are an example. So try using a couple of things: Try rubbing the heavily spotted areas with some liquid detergent and add some powder detergent along with the bleach in you soak cycle. Powder has builders not found in liquid detergent and these are very helpful in getting dirt out of fabrics. If the rags are already pretty dirty, you may see some improvement with adding the detergent but not all the stains/soils will ever come out. Hope this helps!

I received this inquiry recently from Robert, who has been dealing with a tough stain!

Q: Can a small amount of Lestoil be added directly to a load of greasy restaurant clothing? I know it is used directly on a stain for pre-washing, but can I add a bit to the wash load when all clothing in the load is greasy? Thanks!

A: The simple answer is yes. You can add Lestoil to washer, but for greasy clothes, it is best to apply products full-strength to the grease. That way it can start dissolving it before it gets into the wash water. Grease and oil don't mix well together. So adding Lestoil or other grease cutters to wash simply dilutes them and then they must seek out the greasy stains in the wash water. Both very inefficient practices. Hope this helps!

Q: I have a question for you. I recently used the Clorox UltimateCare Bleach on a white cotton shirt. I poured it directly onto the stain and was going to leave it on for the 3 minutes as the instructions stated. But then was interrupted and it was on much longer. I finished washing it and also put it through the rinse cycle twice. Now there are gray and blue stains on it. Is there anyway to get the bleach stains out of the material?

A: I am a little puzzled by your description. A white cotton shirt and pre-treating with Clorox UltimateCare should not produce the gray/blue spots you reported. What type of stain were you trying to remove? Are these new "bleach stains" on the original stain area or in other areas of the shirt? Even with extended contact with the garment, I have not seen any blue/gray spots. Perhaps the spots are grease based; you might try pre-treating with a good liquid detergent and then rewashing in hot water.

Q: Help! I have tried, in vain, to remove sweat stains that have yellowed my beautiful white sheets. Do you have any recommendations or should I just buy yellow sheets?

A: The yellowing is most likely from body soil that has not been totally removed and is building up over time. Check out the posts I did earlier on body soil including some real close-ups of what the stuff looks like. The best solution is each time the sheets are washed:

• Wash in the hottest water


• Use a good detergent and ¾ cup of Clorox Regular-Bleach

On old, set-in stains, you might try a bleach soak (¼ cup per gallon of Clorox Regular-Bleach for 5-10 minutes) followed by a hot wash using detergent and Clorox Regular-Bleach. Not sure if this will remove it all, but repeating this process 2-3 times may get you back on track. If not, your yellow sheet idea is a good one if the rest of the family can be OK with the color. If you get new sheets, remember to follow the washing instructions above to avoid the stain problem in the future. Good luck and let me know if this works for you.

Q: I just built a mountain house which has a septic tank – my first – so I’m not knowledgeable about what to and not to use. I use Clorox Ultimate Care – about ¼ capful. Is this dangerous to break down otherwise needed septic bacteria?

A: Congrats on the mountain cabin; I'm jealous... We get a lot of questions regarding bleach and septic tank usage. Under normal usage, there should be no worry about using bleach in the washer and having it adversely affect the septic system. At the usage rate (¼ cap), and assuming you are using in washing machine, there will be such a small amount of bleach left at the end of your wash cycle. When it is discharged, it will encounter lots of other material to react with in the pipe and be completely gone long before it reaches your septic tank.

Q: I recently purchased some white towels from LL Bean, & on the washing label it states not to use any product that contains ... benzoyl peroxide. Does the Clorox 2 bleach for colors contain this ingredient? Do any of the Clorox products contain it? Thanks for any input you can give me, I just don't want to use the wrong product on my new towels, & I want to learn more as to what benzoyl peroxide is.

A: You are ok to use Clorox2. The liquid Clorox 2 contains hydrogen peroxide and the powder contains sodium perborate which forms hydrogen peroxide when dissolved in wash water. Hydrogen peroxide is a mild oxygen bleach that makes it safe for use on most washable colors. On the other hand, benzoyl peroxide is found in a number of acne medications and is a very aggressive bleaching agent. You could also use sodium hypochlorite on those whites. A milder form of Clorox Regular- Bleach is the new Clorox UltimateCare Bleach. It’s thicker, has a lower bleach level and has a terrific SoftCotton scent.