Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

[doyall]

I finished spring commissioning last week with fresh water tank sanitizing. Or so I thought. This week, for whatever reason, I read the back label of the bottle of "Concentrated Clorox Splash-less Regular Bleach" that I used. It says, among other things, "Not for sanitization or disinfection. To sanitize and disinfect, use Clorox Regular-Bleach." What? As I do not use this tank for potable water I am not overly concerned, but to any of you who use this product, be aware.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

I hate that stuff !!! It is more like a thick syrup like detergent than a bleach.Absolute crap for a boaters purpose.Probably good for a load of wash though.Charlie

 

[Volphin]

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

That's a new one on me... What's it for then?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

perhaps, if it truly is concentrated, it's too much chlorine to be safe.

Or if it pours like liquid detergent, there is a thickening agent (like soap) that is not consumable.

Still be good for cleaning the decks, and if it's thick and sticks, works better. We mix chlorox with dish soap to get that effect and to clean pollen/tree dirt off white boats.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

That's a new one on me... What's it for then?

HE washing machines so you use less.


Now household bleach is effective and it is normally "over used" by the consumer. Here is a pdf to read that might help http://ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu/files/26437.pdf

MANY MANY people have used WAY too much bleach to sanitize.

Please be careful.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

I hate that stuff !!! It is more like a thick syrup like detergent than a bleach.Absolute crap for a boaters purpose.Probably good for a load of wash though.Charlie

Yea, I used some of that stuff last weekend to do some clean-up around the boat. Doesn't seem to do the trick like the regular stuff, and it tastes terrible

 

[Gyrene]

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

A pool place will have concentrated chlorine in 5-gal jugs.

 

[Ned L]

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

perhaps, if it truly is concentrated, it's too much chlorine to be safe.

Or if it pours like liquid detergent, there is a thickening agent (like soap) that is not consumable.

Still be good for cleaning the decks, and if it's thick and sticks, works better. We mix chlorox with dish soap to get that effect and to clean pollen/tree dirt off white boats.

Be careful about mixing bleach and "dish soap". Some dish soaps contain ammonia, and bleach mixed with ammonia is deadly.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

Be careful about mixing bleach and "dish soap". Some dish soaps contain ammonia, and bleach mixed with ammonia is deadly.

^^^^

That's what I was thinkin'. We used to have that problem in the photo-finishing industry. Bleach and ammonia (even pretty small amounts) release a fume that'll put you out cold, if not kill ya'.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

The outdoor concentrated Clorox is meant for outdoor scrubbing of patios, decks, sidewalks, etc (its on the label). Standard Clorox should be used for the sanitizing purpose.

Mixing bleach & ammonia (even accidentally) can cause bad problems. The bleach decomposes to form hydrochloric acid, which reacts with ammonia to form toxic chloramine fumes.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

Be careful about mixing bleach and "dish soap". Some dish soaps contain ammonia, and bleach mixed with ammonia is deadly.

understood. You need the soap to bind (via the suds), cut and then to lift the sap; the chlorox bleaches (cleans) it.

 

[doyall]

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

The Concentrated Splash-less did kind of foam up a bit so it probably does have some surfactant content. For kicks I checked the Material Safety Data Sheets and couldn't tell much about anything but the hazardous stuff. The Concentrated Splash-less contains 1 - 5% sodium hypochlorite and 0.1 - 1 % sodiium hydroxide. The Regular-Bleach contains 5 - 10% sodium hypochlorite and <1% sodium hydroxide. So the Regular-Bleach contains on the order of twice as much hypochlorite, which is the disinfectant/sanitizing agent for water, and potentially a lot less hydroxide, which is lye/caustic soda. Lye is in many cleaning products and must be the surfactant here. Hence the not-for-sanitizing-disinfecting caution on the Concentrated Splash-less. Not enough hypochlorite and too much hydroxide.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Concentrated Clorox - a cautionary tale

or perhaps the difference lies in the 90-95% "inert" ingredients; if it's not just water, you won't want it in the drinking system.