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®?

Q:   How should one use Clorox ® Washing Machine Cleaner in a washing machine without a bleach dispenser?

A: I am assuming you have a standard deep-fill washer since you don’t have a bleach dispenser.  Begin by selecting a hot water cycle, and start the washer (be sure it is empty).  Once you have a little water in the bottom of the tub, you can add Clorox® Washing Machine Cleaner directly to the washer tub—the correct amount to use is 1 cup.  Also, be sure to select an extra rinse cycle. If this is not an option on your washer, then, after the cycle you selected runs to completion, manually select a rinse cycle and start the washer again.  This helps ensure that no bleach is left in the washer. 

How many readers have a washing machine without a bleach dispenser?

Q: We have well water that has high amounts of silica.  This can etch most surfaces.  Is there any special care I should use when using Clorox® Regular-Bleach in my HE machine?

A: Regarding the silica in your well water, I think you mean silicate that is dissolved – silica is basically insoluble, so although it may be analyzed as silica, it is actually silicate.  Silica/silicate should not harm your clothes while cleaning, and in fact, may help--that’s why sodium silicate is a common detergent ingredient.  It binds to many other elements like – calcium, magnesium, iron, etc.  However, silicate is insoluble in the presence of calcium, becoming a precipitating builder, which can be problematic if the precipitate attaches itself to fabric, causing encrustation (most obvious on towels).  Silica/silicate really shouldn’t etch stainless steel or enamel, with or without bleach added to the wash load so I do wonder about the etching you are seeing—is it mainly noticed on glassware?  This would likely be caused by poorly tempered glass having its cations leached out non-uniformly.  It sounds like you may have had your water tested but didn’t mention having high iron or manganese. These metals are problematic for bleach because they can cause white fabrics to yellow over time.  In that case, it’s a good idea to install a filtration system.

Have any readers experienced similar issues with different water properties?

Q: Can Clorox2® remove stains from colored clothes without leaving a bleach stain? I've always been too afraid to try.

A: Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster is a great product to add along with your favorite detergent to boost cleaning, stain removal, brightening, and whitening of virtually all washable garments. That’s because the formula includes hydrogen peroxide, a much gentler color-safe bleach.  It can be added to the wash load along with your detergent, and the liquid formula can be used to pre-treat stains directly.  Be careful to not let the product dry on the fabric – 3-5 minutes of contact time is usually sufficient to remove stains.  You can also test garments or items you are unsure about by applying a drop to a hidden area (like the inside hem).  Wait 3-5 minutes then rinse and blot dry.  No color change?  Then you can safely use Clorox2®!  There is a lot of great information on Clorox2® on the products tab, so be sure to check it out.  I hope you will give it a try!

Readers – I’d love to hear about any stains you’ve treated with Clorox2®.

Q: What type of chemical reaction does the bleach perform in tandem with the detergent?

A:  There are many different reactions that happen during a wash cycle.  Detergents at a minimum provide:

• Builders that tie up water hardness ions (calcium, magnesium, etc) so they can be rinsed away without inhibiting detergency or depositing onto the clothes.


• Surfactants that remove soils/fats and disperse them into the wash water so they can be easily rinsed away.

Better detergents also include enzymes and FWA’s, mentioned above.  The active ingredient in Clorox® Regular-Bleach, sodium hypochlorite, is a strong oxidant that breaks double bonds in body soil, dirt, and various color compounds (think red wine).  This makes it easier for the surfactants and builders to do their jobs over the course of the whole wash cycle, and why we say detergent alone is not enough.

I’m wondering, are there any fun success stories out there after using bleach?

Q:  I just bought the Clorox Plus® Splash-Less Bleach and it is watery, is that normal?

A:  I am not sure what you mean by “watery”.  Clorox Plus® Splash-Less Bleach should be a clear, lime-yellow liquid that is slightly thicker than water.  The thickeners that make it easier to pour with less splashing do not make it pour similarly to, say, olive oil.  It is closer to pouring freshly mixed gelatin (i.e. JELL-O®) before it has had a chance to cool and set.  Depending on what you were expecting, it could seem watery, but in a side-by-side comparison with Clorox® Regular Bleach, it should be thicker. 

What do you prefer:  Clorox Plus® Splash-Less Bleach or Clorox® Regular-Bleach?

Q:  My son washed his new work uniform in warm water, which consists of black pants (80% poly / 20% cotton) and a white shirt (85% poly / 15% cotton) with a blue embroidery logo. Now the shirt has dye stains all over it from the pants and is less than white. Are there any options for getting the stains out and whitening? The embroidery is colorfast. The label does say "Do Not Bleach."

A:  It is good the shirt is a polyester/cotton blend, because this fabric is generally safe for bleaching.  To restore the shirt, I would try a bleach pre-soak:  dilute ¼ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in 1 gallon of water.  Fully submerge the shirt for up to 5 minutes.  You may notice the color coming off immediately, or it may take the full amount of time.  Next, drain and thoroughly rinse the shirt, allowing the shirt to air dry.  Hopefully this will work, but if it does not, try RIT color remover, which you can find at most drug stores.  Just be sure to follow the package instructions carefully.

I would expect that the logo is embroidered with polyester thread, and should not be altered by either of these treatments.  That said, there is still the possibility that there could be a color change.  However, I think it is worth taking the chance to restore the shirt given that the alternative is to throw the shirt away - and I am sure your son has other plans for the money he is earning!  Of course, the silver lining is that he now has firsthand experience with the importance of sorting laundry into like-color groups for washing.

Have your kids had any laundry mishaps?

Q:  Which is better to use for urine soiled white sheets, Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster or Clorox® Regular Bleach?

A:  I am assuming you would like to disinfect the sheets, and that they are a cotton or poly-cotton blend.  Therefore, you need to use Clorox® Regular-Bleach, our EPA-registered disinfectant.  Select a hot water cycle, and wash them with detergent and ¾ cup bleach.  If you have an HE washer, fill the dispenser to the “max fill” line.  Clorox2® includes oxygen bleach that is safe for colored items, but consequently does not disinfect.

Readers – I’d love to hear about some other disinfecting needs!  Leave a comment below and I will gladly respond to any questions out there.

Q:  How do I get the Clorox® Bleach smell out of my blouse which is made of rayon?

A:  To remove a lingering bleach smell from a garment, try a pre-soak with liquid Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster.  Just fill the cap to line 1 and add it to 2 gallons of water.  Fully submerge the shirt for 5 minutes.  This should be enough to allow the hydrogen peroxide in Clorox2® to react with any residual chlorine on the shirt.  Then thoroughly rinse the shirt and allow it to air dry. 

Do you have a favorite Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster scent?  Mine is Lavender!

Q:  I had a mishap with some of my whites and tried to use Clorox® Regular Bleach to get the red out. Unfortunately, in the process, the bottle fell and a small hole punctured the Clorox container.  I scrambled to clean up, and had an old bottle of Tide® plus Bleach Alternative Liquid Laundry Detergent.  I used the Tide® bottle to save the rest of the bleach, put it in my cupboard and left it there.  A few minutes later there was liquid all over the bottom of the cupboard and the Tide® bottle was extremely hot.  I had to dump it down the drain.  My question is:  what caused this chemical reaction?

A:  Dealing with a bleach spill is a challenge.  It sounds like the old bottle of Tide® plus Bleach Alternative Liquid Laundry Detergent used to contain the bleach was not quite empty, causing an exothermic reaction when the two products combined, as evidenced by the bottle becoming hot to the touch.  I do not know the precise reaction, and without knowing the exact formula of that detergent brand or how much of each product was present, I do not want to guess.  However, it is not surprising that the not-quite-empty detergent bottle failed to contain the transferred bleach, and is a great example of why we recommend that undiluted bleach should never be combined with other household cleaning products.  At the very least, the undiluted bleach can deactivate some of the other product’s ingredients.  At the worst, if the household cleaning product is acidic (has a lower pH), toxic gas can form that can be fatal. Fortunately, liquid laundry detergents are typically buffered to a neutral pH.  Of course when properly diluted as directed, bleach works very effectively with detergent to clean, whiten, and disinfect laundry. 

Back to the spill:  what else could be done?  It helps to have a few dishpans on hand – they are great for pre-soaking.  Start by setting the leaking bottle in a sink or dishpan while you deal with any bleach that has spilled.  Next try to contain the spilled bleach by using towels to surround the liquid.  Let the towels absorb the bleach, and then use a plastic dishpan to transfer the towels from the spill site into a sink where you can carefully rinse them.   Next, transfer the rinsed towels to your washer and run them through a cycle with detergent.  For the leaking bottle, if you don’t have an alternative and clean container, you can safely dispose of the bleach and take advantage of the situation by disinfecting and deodorizing all the toilets in your house!  First, flush the toilet and then add 1 cup bleach to the toilet bowl.  Brush the entire bowl and let stand 10 minutes before flushing again.  If you still have some bleach left, you can also sanitize your sinks:  fill each sink with a ratio of 1 gallon of water to ¾ cup bleach.  Let stand for 5 minutes and then drain the solution and rinse the sink thoroughly.  Lastly, you can also sanitize your clothes washer by running an empty cycle with ¾ cup bleach (or fill the dispenser to the max fill line).

One final reminder:  once the bleach spill has been contained, absorbed and disposed of (in accordance with your local, state, and federal regulations), it is important to follow up by washing the spill area and letting it dry thoroughly.  This helps prevent residual bleach from damaging other clothing or laundry items.

Have you ever had a bleach spill or strange bleach reaction with another product?