While
the word "bleach" entered the English language around the year 1050,
bleach containing sodium hypochlorite was first manufactured in the U.S. in
1913, for use as an institutional disinfectant and a water treatment. Before
that, chemicals such as borax, ammonia and lye were the most common bleaches in
the U.S., and bleaches made using chlorine were generally too expensive to
manufacture until the 20th century.
Clorox
Chemical, later called the Clorox Company, first gave samples of bleach to
consumers for household use in 1922. Since chlorine bleach was faster and more
effective than the bleaches people had been using, it quickly became the most
popular household bleach (chlorine bleach).
Household
bleaches are a part of everyday life and are in nearly every American home
usually in more than one form. There are two main classes of household bleach:
chlorine bleach and non-chlorine bleach. You can use bleach to remove stains on clothing, to
whiten your laundry, or disinfect surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom.
People
use chlorine in swimming pools to keep the water
clean and raise the pH, and in much smaller concentrations to help keep
municipal water supplies free of
harmful organisms. Companies sometimes add chlorine bleach to industrial
wastewater to reduce odor, and chlorine is used by the glass, chemical,
pharmaceutical, textile, agriculture, paint, and paper industries. With its
many uses, bleach is a very familiar product to most people. Did you know these
other interesting facts (and cleaning ideas) about bleach?
Bleach can be
used in the kitchen. Many of you don’t like using bleach
in the kitchen. When used properly, this chemical can safely sanitize kitchen
surfaces. Just know that most surfaces need to either air-dry or be wiped with
water after using bleach on them.
Bleach
can help cut flowers last longer. Got
some fresh flowers? If they didn’t come with one of those preservative packets,
you can make your own. Fill a vase with 1/4 teaspoon of bleach and a quart of
water before you add your flowers in. The bleach keeps harmful bacteria from
growing in the water.
Bleach disinfects drinking water… After a natural disaster. (Do not start using bleach on a
daily basis in your water supply.) You can add 1/8 teaspoon of regular,
unscented, liquid household bleach for each gallon of water. Mix it up and let
it stand for 30 minutes before you drink it.
Bleach doesn’t mix. It
may seem like the perfect ingredient to concoct a super-powered kitchen
cleaner, but you should never, ever mix household bleach with other kitchen
cleaners especially ones that contain ammonia or acid. Doing so can release
toxic fumes that could lead to coughing, nausea, chest pain, and more. You can
find ammonia in some glass and window cleaners, paints, and urine (so be
careful using bleach on toilet bowls, diaper pails, or pet messes). As a
general rule, just don’t ever mix bleach with anything except water.
Bleach expires. As
with most cleaning products on the market, the active ingredient in bleach
breaks down little by little over time (how quickly this happens depends on
many factors including your storage conditions or if you leave the cap off for
extended periods of time). This is actually good news for the environment:
Given enough time, bleach eventually becomes a mix of mostly salt and water
with the remainder of the solution easily broken down in regular sewage
treatment facilities.
Brighten stained storage containers. Plastic storage containers can get stained and dingy after
holding things like tomato sauce. To lighten the stains, let a mixture of
bleach and water (read the package labeling for the proper amounts) sit in the
containers for at least 15 minutes, then rinse out and wash as usual.
Clean kitchen floors. To
clean laminate floors, mix a solution of 1/2 cup bleach to one gallon water and
use it to mop the floors. Let the solution sit for at least five minutes then
go over them with clean water and let them dry.
Clean kitchen linens. Laundry
is a traditional use for bleach, and here it comes in handy for kitchen towels,
oven mitts, aprons, throw rugs, and more. Just launder as usual, but add an
extra capful (or whatever the package instructions suggest) of bleach.
Clean plastic furniture. If
your molded plastic kitchen chairs are starting to look gross, clean them with
bleach: A diluted mixture of bleach and water (following packaging
instructions) should remove debris. Then give them a rinse and let them
air-dry.
Disinfect garbage disposals. To disinfect your garbage disposal, pour 3/4 cup of bleach
down the drain with water while you’re running the garbage disposal.
Disinfect trash containers. Even with effective garbage bags and consistent
trash-emptying, your trash can is going to get cruddy after a while. To
disinfect it, wipe the insides with a bleach solution, then allow it to dry
outside.
Porcelain sinks. If
your sink needs brightening, consider filling it with warm water and adding
bleach; let it sit for at least 15 minutes, and then drain and rinse it.
Sanitize plastic cutting boards. If you’ve been using your plastic cutting boards for meat,
wash and then sanitize them with a diluted bleach mixture (following package
instructions; typically up to two teaspoons of bleach per gallon of water) to
remove any lingering bacteria.
Sanitize sponges. While
it’s best to replace your sponge often, you can de-germ in between changes by
soaking it for a few minutes in a solution of 3/4 cup bleach to 1 gallon water,
letting it dry before using it.
“You know you're an adult when you get excited
about a new cleaning sponge at the kitchen sink.”
(coolfunnyquotes.com)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“10
Surprising Ways You Should Be Using Bleach in the Kitchen” by
Ayn-Monique Klahre
·
“5 Things
to Know About Bleach in the Kitchen” by
Ayn-Monique Klahre
·
“How Bleach Works” Melissa Sandoval
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