Bleach Myths

Myths about Bleach

The myth
about:
Chemicals
Environment
Cancer / Asthma
Chlorine
Dioxins
Aquatic Life
Equipment / Surfaces
The myth
about:

Let's set the story straight.

Myths about dragons are cool. Myths about bleach aren't.

People are worried about chemicals. Many think bleach harms the environment, and most people have a fundamental misunderstanding of the chemistry of household disinfecting bleach. We're here to clear up the misconceptions about household bleach.

Myth #1: Bleach products are also pesticides.

Some bleach products are EPA registered disinfectants, which means they are classified as pesticides – along with agricultural pesticides – even though it is primarily a public health disinfectant. It can be confusing because of public perceptions relating to the term "pesticide". Clorox® is working to educate the public regarding the differences between traditional agricultural pesticides and public health pesticides. Products that claim the ability to control microorganisms in the United States must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. This requires formulation and manufacturing to comply with regulations regarding raw materials, processing, label strength, shelf life, usage safety and product efficacy. All Clorox® disinfecting products containing bleach are EPA-registered.

Myth #2: Bleach harms the environment.

Household bleach begins and ends as salt water in a fully sustainable cycle. There's a significant difference between "bleaching" – the name associated with the manufacturing of paper products – and household bleach. During consumer use and disposal, bleach quickly breaks down primarily to salt and water. Bleach does not contaminate ground water because it does not survive sewage treatment – either in municipal sewage treatment plans or in septic systems.

Myth #3: Bleach causes cancer and asthma.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing the International Agency for Research on Cancer, concluded that hypochlorite salts, including sodium hypochlorite (bleach), are not cancer-causing.

Myth #4: There is free chlorine in household bleach.

The concerns about chlorine have extended to household bleach. Even though bleach has an entirely different chemistry – it is derived from sodium chloride (common table salt) and there is no free chlorine in the final product – bleach is commonly referred to as chlorine bleach. It's wrong to call household bleach chlorine bleach because it has an entirely different chemistry.

Household bleach is derived from sodium chloride – common table salt. During household use, Clorox® Bleach breaks down to mostly salt and water. Clorox purchases chlorine and makes household bleach by bubbling the chlorine into a solution of water and sodium hydroxide. During this process, all of the chlorine is converted to a sodium hypochlorite solution.

Myth #5: Bleach forms dioxins.

When used for cleaning and disinfecting, bleach cannot form dioxins. This is supported by several independent studies, including those by European environmental agencies. To form a dioxin, you need the type of organic building blocks that are typically found in the pulp bleaching process, which are not found in a household setting.

Myth #6: Bleach harms aquatic life.

Everyday consumer and commercial use of bleach as directed in laundering clothes or in disinfecting surfaces around the home or public places such as schools and hospitals does not produce harmful effects on the environment. Bleach degrades primarily into salt and water and the remaining 2 percent to 5 percent is effectively treated by municipal waste water treatment plants or septic systems. No bleach gets to the environment.

Myth #7: Clorox® bleach damages equipment and surfaces.

The majority of Clorox® bleach products contain anticorrosion agents and, when used as directed, are safe for use on a variety of hard, nonporous surfaces, including stainless steel, plastics, glazed ceramics, glass, porcelain and other materials. Use bleach with confidence to clean and disinfect countertops, floors, toilets, sinks, trash cans, keyboards, phones, light switches and desks.

FAQs

Let's get real and focus on the facts

There is so much confusion about bleach. The truth is during household use, Clorox® Bleach breaks down to mostly salt and water. We're here to provide true information about bleach and shed some light on any mistaken beliefs about household bleach.

Show the Facts
Fact #1 | Bleach does not form dioxins.
Fact #2 | There is no free chlorine in household bleach.
Fact #3 | Is there mercury in bleach?
Fact #4 | Laundering with bleach does not harm aquatic life.
Fact #5 | Clorox® bleach does not damage equipment and surfaces.

Bleach does not form dioxins.

When used for cleaning and disinfecting, bleach cannot form dioxins. This is supported by several independent studies, including those by European environmental agencies. To form a dioxin, you need the type of organic building blocks that are typically found in the pulp bleaching process, which are not found in a household setting.

There is no free chlorine in household bleach.

It's wrong to call household bleach chlorine bleach because it has an entirely different chemistry. Household bleach is derived from sodium chloride – common table salt. Clorox purchases chlorine and makes household bleach by bubbling the chlorine into a solution of water and sodium hydroxide. During this process, all of the chlorine is converted to a sodium hypochlorite solution.

Is there mercury in bleach?

According to Jim McCabe, who is responsible for the environmental safety and regulatory compliance of all Clorox products, in the most recent round of testing in 2001 that included all seven of its U.S. facilities, Clorox found that the amount of mercury in its final bleach product was less than 0.2 parts per billion.

McCabe: When we did our last major round of testing in 2001 that included all seven of our U.S. facilities, we found no detectable level of mercury in our final bleach product (the detection limit is less than 0.2 parts per billion). To put that into perspective, federal rules allow drinking water to contain 2 parts per billion of mercury, or at least ten times more than the detection limit. Moreover, federal rules consider mercury hazardous waste at 200 parts per billion. In other words, by not finding any mercury at its detection limit, our bleach is at least a thousand times under the level of being considered a hazardous waste due to mercury.)

Click here for more about mercury.

Laundering with bleach does not harm aquatic life.

Everyday consumer and commercial use of bleach as directed in laundering clothes or in disinfecting surfaces around the home or public places such as schools and hospitals does not produce harmful effects on the environment. Bleach degrades primarily into salt and water and the remaining 2 percent to 5 percent is effectively treated by municipal waste water treatment plants or septic systems. No bleach gets to the environment.

Clorox® bleach does not damage equipment and surfaces.

The majority of Clorox® bleach products contain anticorrosion agents and, when used as directed, are safe for use on a variety of hard, nonporous surfaces, including stainless steel, plastics, glazed ceramics, glass, porcelain and other materials. Use bleach with confidence to clean and disinfect countertops, floors, toilets, sinks, trash cans, keyboards, phones, light switches and desks.

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