How can I treat a gasoline spill on my black cotton and spandex yoga pants?

This is such an interesting question, and the answer needs to address more than just cleaning—there's a safety issue, too. Clothes washer and dryer manufacturers don’t want oil or gasoline soaked items going into their appliances for cleaning because of the risk of spontaneous combustion, and they put a warning on the appliances and in the user’s guide to that effect. Throwing away oil-saturated clothes is the safest course of action—check with your garbage service provider to see what they recommend for safe disposal before tossing any items away.

This isn’t very helpful, I realize, and that frustrates me—I also know that presoaking or pretreating with a stronger degreaser (like Goo Gone or DeSolveIt, available at hardware stores) could be effective at removing residual gasoline. You would need to test a hidden part of the pants for colorfastness first, and then follow the manufacturer’s directions. If you know how the gasoline got onto the pants, and how much of it there was originally, that would also be helpful in deciding how to proceed.

Even so, not knowing enough about your specific situation makes recommending discarding the pants necessary from a safety standpoint.

Q: I work for an ambulatory care center and we currently do our own laundry. Our hot water cannot reach 160°F but we use the hottest water possible, and add bleach to all loads. During a recent survey we were told that depending on the temperature of the water, different quantities of bleach are required. Currently, manufacture label directions are followed. I did not find any language to the effect of water temperature and required concentration of bleach in CDC or other guidelines, and I was wondering if you happen to have any information about this.

A: This is such an interesting question because there are so many different parameters your care facility must manage to provide a safe environment for your patients. I reviewed an on-line copy of the CDC guidelines at http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/pdf/guidelines/eic_in_HCF_03.pdf to understand the background of your question. There are two Clorox EPA registered disinfectants, Clorox® Regular-Bleach and Clorox® Commercial Solutions Ultra Clorox® Germicidal Bleach. Their disinfectant use is governed by whether or not the product has had efficacy for specific organisms established under specific use conditions.

When adding bleach it is important to follow label instructions, however you have correctly noted that the label instructions do not mention adjusting bleach amounts based on specific water temperatures. That is something not pursued as part of our EPA registration, which identifies the amount of bleach to add regardless of the wash temperature (cold, warm, hot, etc.). As long as label instructions are followed, you can be confident that the laundry is safely and effectively disinfected regardless of the water temperature. Instructions are as follows:

• For Clorox® Regular-Bleach, add 3/4 cup bleach per load for a standard washer. For a large washer or heavily soiled laundry, add up to 1 1/4 cups bleach.
• For Ultra Clorox® Germicidal Bleach, add 1 cup per load for a standard washer. For a large washer or heavily soiled laundry, add up to 1 1/4 cups bleach.

CDC guidelines clarify that the use of an EPA-registered product is necessary for disinfectancy in low temperatures. It states “choose chemicals suitable for low-temperature washing at proper use concentration if low-temperature (<160ºF [<70ºC ]) laundry cycles are used (365–370). Category II” where “suitable” denotes an EPA registered product. I do not think the intent of the report is to have facilities like yours adjust bleach usage for a precise temperature rather to clarify that only at temperatures of 160°F or higher, washing with detergent alone, is acceptable for eliminating bacteria.

Q: How do I disinfect my black couch and wooden floors without damaging them?

A: As long as the wood flooring has a finish that effectively makes it a hard surface, a singular bleach treatment of a disinfecting solution should not damage the wood; although I would suggest testing a small, less visible section first. To prepare the disinfecting solution, add ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach to one gallon of water. Pre-wash the wood flooring and then mop or wipe with the disinfecting solution. Let stand for ten minutes, then rinse thoroughly and air dry. Consider working in small sections to be sure you can manage rinsing quickly and efficiently. Be sure the room is well ventilated, and I would also recommend wearing eye protection and gloves. If the bleach treatment looks like it is going to damage the finish, consult a floor professional.

As for the black couch, the best you can do is to have it cleaned professionally and be sure it can dry quickly and thoroughly. Exposure to sunlight can also help increase your chances of success. If necessary, repeat the cleaning process to completely disinfect.

Q: After cutting up a large pine branch this past weekend, our clothes have little drops of pine sap in multiple places. Is this considered a stain, or can I simply wash them with detergent? Preferably, I do not want to do a lot of extra work if a regular wash will do the trick. However, if the sap will stain the materials, I do not want to further the problem by setting the stain through washing.

A: Pine sap is a very difficult stain to remove with typical laundry treatments. I would recommend trying to treat the stains directly with De-Solv-it® or Goo Gone®, which you can find at hardware stores. I would not expect a problem with using these products on the items, but I would first check for colorfastness by applying a drop of the products to a hidden part of the garments, rinse, and blot dry. If there is no color change, spray or rub a little into the sap and then wash with detergent in the hottest water temperature allowed on the care label. Allow to air dry and check for success. Air drying is very important since the heat from the dryer can permanently set sap stains. In order to do everything you can to increase your chances of success, you may need to repeat the treatment to fully remove the stains. This may include increasing the length of time you pretreat the stains.

Q: I want to take most of the color out of a section of fabric for a reverse tie-dye effect. The fabric content is 100% flannel cotton, and has been washed and dried by the usual, conventional method. Is there a particular Clorox® Regular-Bleach to water ratio I should use, and is there a water temperature that is the most effective? Also, is it possible to use undiluted Clorox® Regular-Bleach without destroying the fabric?

A: Sounds like an interesting art project! First, let me clarify that you should never use undiluted bleach right out of the bottle. We never recommend this, and in the case of fabric, it can cause holes to develop over time. A good trial dilution is our bleachability test solution: 2 teaspoons bleach diluted in ¼ cup water. This is typically used by consumers to check colored fabrics for colorfastness to bleach. To test the area, apply a drop of the bleach test solution to the fabric, wait one minute, and blot dry. Often there is no color change, and the tested item can be safely bleached. You may even find this with the fabric you have selected. If the fabric “fails” the test and changes color, then you will be able to use bleach to create the reverse tie-dye effect you are looking for.
You may find that you would like a little more control over how you apply the diluted bleach solution to your fabric, and for that I would recommend the Clorox® Bleach Pen® Gel. It has a thicker formula with a lower sodium hypochlorite active level than Clorox® Regular-Bleach, and is safe to apply directly to fabrics. Also, it has both a fine tip and a broad scrubber tip, which you can use to control fine lines and other effects. Note that you will need to thoroughly rinse the fabric when you are finished applying the gel. As the gel rinses into the water, it may bleach other areas of the fabric if the dye is sensitive to bleach. To help mitigate this problem add a capful of Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster to a filled clothes washer before directly dropping the fabric into the machine. The color-safe bleach in Clorox2® is hydrogen peroxide, and will cancel the bleaching effects of the sodium hypochlorite. Let the clothes washer complete the cycle to rinse the fabric.
Finally, you should avoid bleaching wool, silk, spandex, mohair, and leather with any sodium hypochlorite containing product such as Clorox® Regular-Bleach or Clorox® Bleach Pen® Gel.

Q: I experienced a nightmare last night! I washed a load of laundry, light colors and whites, and a black glove accidentally got thrown into the wash. Well, now I have light gray to almost black dye on just about every piece of clothing. Will Clorox® remove these stains and not harm the fabrics or the colors of the fabrics?

A: Dye transfers can be a nightmare, but you should be able to restore the bleachable items with a bleach soaking solution. Start by figuring out which items are safely bleachable. First, check the care labels and be sure to avoid bleaching wool, silk mohair, spandex and leather. For the colored items, check for colorfastness to bleach with this simple bleachability test: dilute two teaspoons of Clorox® Regular-Bleach in ¾ cup water. Apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of each item like a hem, cuff, collar or inside seam. Wait one minute and then blot dry. If there is no color change, that means the item can be safely bleached. For the items that passed the bleach test, try soaking them in a solution of ¼ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach diluted in one gallon cool water for up to five minutes. Rinse the garments thoroughly, air dry and check for success! It is important to keep items out of the dryer so the heat does not set the dye. If a small amount of the color persists, then repeat the bleach soak again. If the bleach soak leaves the gray and black color unchanged, then you may need to try RIT® color remover.

Q: I had a dog die from the parvovirus and I was told to bleach everywhere my puppy had been. How many times should I bleach before the virus is gone?

A: I am so sorry to hear that your puppy died – how very sad. To kill canine parvovirus on hard non-porous surfaces, prepare a disinfecting solution of ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach and one gallon of water. Pre-wash the areas and then mop or wipe with the disinfecting solution. Let stand for ten minutes, then rinse thoroughly and air dry. One treatment should kill the virus as long as you use the proper dilution and allow ten minutes of contact time. For this situation, I would also use a newly purchased bottle of bleach to be sure the bleach active is at label strength. Definitely do not use a bottle of bleach that has been sitting around for too long, since over time the bleach active naturally breaks down into salt and water. This decomposition process is what makes Clorox® Regular-Bleach environmentally friendly.

Q: I have to soak my hands in molten wax three times a week as part of a treatment for arthritic hands. Sometimes the wax spills over onto the throw blanket I put under the pot while the wax is cooling. How can I remove these dried wax splotches? I believe the throw is flannel.

A: Wax can be easily removed from many fabrics by slightly heating the wax spot so it will transfer from the fabric and onto a brown paper bag. First you will want to scrape away as much of the wax as possible with a dull knife. Cut open a brown paper bag, but make sure the bag does not already have a wax coating. Next, place the bag over the wax spot and gently press the area with a dry iron on the lowest setting. You should start to see dark brown splotches appear on the bag as it absorbs the warmed wax. Reposition a fresh part of the bag over the wax spot and gently press again with the iron. You will need to repeat this until no more wax absorbs onto the bag.
If any wax remains on the fabric, pre-treat the stained area by apply Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster directly to the stain. Wait three to five minutes, and then wash the item with detergent and Clorox2® in the hottest water recommended on the care label. Make sure you air dry the item because it is very important to keep wax stains out of the dryer. Once fully dried check for success and repeat if necessary.