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According a Clorox commercial on TV today (during a baby show, meaning lots of Moms saw this ad) you should sanitize not only your child’s toys but also their BOTTLES and SIPPY cups in a bleach and water solution.
Are you freaking kidding me?
Bleach is a huge cause of calls to the poison control center, and the makers of Clorox Chlorine Bleach want us to soak young children’s food containers in it?
These are just some of the oh so useful suggestions found on Clorox.com under AMAZING USES. Heh… the only amazing thing about bleach is its ability to strip fabric of all colors and eat through fabric when used repeatedly or in higher concentrations (and that SMELL!)
Chlorine bleach is bad for the environment and more importantly, it is bad for the health of our families and our homes. While traditional household concentrations of bleach won’t cause any life threatening reaction if ingested, it is still a toxic chemical, one that our homes should be free of.
The MSDS for Clorox Regular bleach states: “DANGER: CORROSIVE. May cause severe irritation or damage to eyes and skin. Vapor or mist may irritate. Harmful if swallowed. Keep out of reach of children.”
I’m just absolutely shocked at the recommendation to clean an infants bottles and sippy cups with a bleach solution. For one, WHY do we need to sanitize to the level of killing all bacteria (good and bad)? If for some reason, sanitation is required, boiling water works wonders without chemicals. Many dishwashers on the market today have a sanitation cycle, you can stick lots of toys, bottles and sippy cups on the top rack and they come out sparkling clean.
According to Clorox, one should mix one tablespoon of bleach with a gallon of water and soak prewashed bottles in the solution for two minutes. Then you should pour the solution through the nipples and drain dry. They don’t even recommend a final rinse.
I’d like to think that we are well beyond the days of feeling like we have to sanitize our children’s bottles. But if you do want to or have been advised to by a Doctor, then use boiling water (you know, the old fashioned method our parents used when we were infants). There are also options on the market for microwave sanitation.
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That’s marketing for you. Thanks for this informative post. Useful outgoing links which I really appreciate. I can tell you’re passionate about the topic, rightfully so!
So what should us green-minded moms use in lieu of a bleach pen on the occasions we need to remove a stain from a white piece of laundry?
I rarely use it, but do keep one in my home and never really thought about it.
Crimson Wife…Try this…pour cornstarch onto the stain and let set for 15 minutes or so. Cornstarch absorbs moisture so it will lift a lot of the stain. Wash as usual.
Thanks for this great post!!! That commercial drives me nuts too! I just want to go right through the TV. I’m going to blog about this too and link to you within. The power of blogging!!
Rebecca- great tip for stains!
Also, I use hydrogen peroxide directly on the spot. Vinegar and lemon juice are also effective. It may take some experimenting to figure out what works for which stain with you water (harder or softer water can cause differing results!).
I make a paste out of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and my Eco’s liquid detergent. Then apply with a toothbrush (another great use for old toothbrushes). Only make a small amount as the hydrogen/baking soda mix will cause foaming, etc… and make a mess if you try to store it!
Good Luck! I cannot STAND Clorox.
I’m glad to see all the helpful tips on how to “green clean” stains. I have to admit, I did use bleach a couple months ago. We had a septic problem, and it migrated to the kids’ bathtub! That would be my one “excuse” for it… but then I green cleaned it numerous times before the little guy set foot in it.
Otherwise, I agree: there are plenty of alternatives.
I just saw this commercial this weekend and couldn’t believe it. After soaking, just rinse and let dry. Really???? Why not mix some bleach in with the juice for a nice cocktail. I really could not believe this commercial. Even in the days where I was sanitize happy – I was extremely careful about what I used to clean things that went in my kids mouths.
I also noticed today during a TLC baby show, Clorox recommended soak, rinse dry for toys and soak and dry for bottles. The commercial needs to be edited at the very least to indicate a rinse for bottles as well. We mothers have to make concious decisions based on all the marketing ploys out there, it is our responsibility to make educated choices. There is likely an issue the lack of education on the use manufactured chemicals and sterilization for any application.
You need to get your facts straight. Every product needs to put scary disclaimers on it’s product. For goodness sake, WATER is corrosive as well. Should you not use that around your baby? Bleach breaks down mainly to salt and water.
Fiona Murray is right when she states that Clorox Liquid Bleach breaks down to saltwater — which is back what it begins with. Also, It’s viruses that really make kids ill. Bleach is one of the reasons why so many lives have been spared over the years due to it’s viral killing properties — it has saved thousands of lives. If you don’t believe me, go ask the Red Cross to prove it to you. So before you jump off the deep end, and get everybody stirred up with a bunch of ignorant inaccuracies — get your facts straight Jaime — and quick spreading lies about the “myths” around Bleach.
Rick- everything stated here is factual. Clorox does not break down to saltwater completely. There are byproducts left over which Clorox states will be taken care of by the septic or sewer system. I’m not sure about yours, but my septic tank treats NOTHING and chlorine bleach is highly discouraged for users of a septic tank because it kills all the beneficial bacteria causing septic issues, like nasty overflow. There’s some virus and bacteria to make people sick. We do not use chlorine bleach in our home and my children and daycare children are sick less than average, so I don’t buy that its necessary to prevent the spread of illness. There are plenty of alternatives out there.
Bleach is a horrible health hazard. I use to use it to disinfect my house. I now have chronic lung problems because of it. When ever I am around bleach even in the smallest amounts it takes my breath away and I can not breath!!!!
It is a shame too because it is used in all childcare centers. I can’t believe it is even recomended for use there. I hope more kids don’t develop breathing problems. Vinager in a 5 percent or higher solution works just as well as bleach and it is safer.
just because something breaks down to salt and water, does not mean it is “safe’ or does not pose a risk of health hazards. the chlorine in bleach is the hazard, oxygenated bleach is generally safer.
This is proof that idiots are taking over the world! Dishwasher will not kill most viruses or bacterial organisms you need something stronger that will stop the spread of infectious diseases. I run a day care and will put a table-spoon of bleach to my dishwasher to sterilize the toys and dishes. Just because one idiot failed to follow the directions and call the company for proper use don’t allow them to change the world. People who can’t breath around bleach are 95% of them are smokers and will not tell you. If you follow the safety sheet of the product or use the MSDS material safety data sheet will not have problems. Medicines in the cabinets are more hazardous, paints, gas, and oils in the garage or basement are worse to the environment human health then bleach!
Bleach is bad news period. The fumes? Anything that smells so strongly that you must use it in a well ventilated area doesn’t belong in my home.
Bleach DOES NOT break down COMPLETELY to salt + water:
“The remaining 2 percent to 5 percent breaks down to form by-products that are effectively treated by municipal wastewater treatment plants or septic systems.”
That was quoted directly from Clorox’s website on bleach and the environment. So, we have salt, water and 2-5% of unknown by-products which will be effectively treated by wastewater plants or septic systems?
Huh…. by the way, chlorine bleach kills the good bacteria lurking in your septic tank… you know the little guys who eat up all the junk and keep your septic from having major issues.
The use of chlorine bleach doesn’t fit with a chemical free home… and we that’s what we are all about here. Some people want to gloss over chlorine bleach by making claims such as “breaks down to salt+water”, etc… when in fact those claims are not the complete truth.
If a product has nasty (eye burning) fumes, eats through clothing, burns my skin, etc… it’s not coming into my house and it definitely isn’t being used on my children’s products.
I am also a daycare provider. I have a natural home without any commercial chemicals. We use vinegar, lemon juice, tea tree oil and water for disinfecting and cleaning purposes. I can tell you we do not have more illness than any other daycare, I would venture to say we have less than most in our area. Bleach is not necessary to clean and disinfecting is only necessary when there is a virus or bacteria present (which isn’t often). Over disinfecting leads to more illness because we can’t fight off the germs.
No home should have hazardous substances like paint, gas and oils laying around. We certainly don’t. Paint gets used and then RECYCLED… the same with motor oil and cooking oils… we only bring in the amount of gasoline needed to run the mower and don’t store any extra outside of the mower. These items are not (or shouldn’t be) sitting in the house (or used in the house) where a child has access to them and you certainly aren’t using them on your child’s toys and bottles.
Wow this is ridiculous. Bleach is one of the best sanitizers we, as the human race, have to kill microorganisms. If you eat at a restaurant or a bar or ANY food service establishment chances are they use bleach diluted to 100ppm with water to sanitize. You do not need to rinse anything with water after using this dilution of bleach. Its RECOMMENDED by the FDA and is very common in food safety.
The fact is that this quote, “We use vinegar, lemon juice, tea tree oil and water for disinfecting and cleaning purposes.” doesn’t jive with food safety. Vinegar, Lemon Juice, and tea tree oil are acids. Acids are effective at killing SOME bacterias, but I would venture to say they are about 80% less effective than a simple dilution of bleach. You need the oxidation property of bleach to thoroughly kill bacteria and disinfect surfaces.
If you want a “safer” alternative to bleach, I would suggest hydrogen peroxide, as it acts as an oxidizer.
If you are so against using bleach I suggest two things; Stop spreading ludicrous claims with no scientific evidence to support your conclusion. And secondly, perhaps you should pick up a chemistry book, learn something about science, and then make a claim.
Your mindset is the exact reason we don’t have nuclear energy as out main source of power. Misinformation and drawing conclusions from hearsay or not fully understating. Here is a little FYI Nuclear plants produce about 97% less radiation than coal burning plants. I bet you would have said that the other way around…
Hi,
I completely agree about the clorox bleach. It DOES NOT belong in a household. I nearly died yesterday after cleaning my bathtub with it. This product s/b banned.
you are making it sound like they want you to soak the cups in a whole tub of straight bleach, you never heard of diluting with water…dumbass…
Does vinegar kill viruses? i think not. Virus are what make kids sick. You’d be better off to use an alcohol solution, vs vinegar. At least the properties of alcohol has the ability to kill viruses.
Try using the scented bleach. It does not have the strong odor as the regular strength bleach. More pleasant scent to use around the house if the standard scent bothers you.
Do you realize that hospitals, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies use bleach to sanitize surfaces? How about restaurants? They use bleach to sanitize cooking surfaces, food trays, dishes, silverware, and counter tops.
Bleach breaks down into sodium chloride in the environment. Sodium chloride is also known by its other name: table salt.
There are plenty of more dangerous chemicals you use on a daily basis.
“Chlorine bleach is bad for the environment and more importantly, it is bad for the health of our families and our homes.”
I’m just adding my 50 cents worth. If something is bad for the environment, it’s way more significant than just your family. Maybe not to you but in the real scope of things, toxins in the environment are not “out there,” they are everywhere and will harm everything. The environment keeps ALL life alive on Earth and it’s not just saving whales! Without the environment, we have no food, water, soil, resources- so the environment is way more important than a sick family. I know the truth hurts, but what can I do?
I cannot believe the commercial! I am a Clorox user for moldy rags in the laundry, but that’s about all I use it for. I would never put bleach in my baby’s bottles.
Thank you for writing about this. I actually spoke with a lady who I once asked how to quickly remove smell from my kitchen trashcan, and she said that she is a day care director and she sprays the toddler room after diaper changes and it works wonders with removing odor from the air……., glad my toddler isn’t in that room every day. People need to educate themselves.
Sorry, JR Trantow but you need to get your facts straight. People who can’t breathe around bleach are not smokers. Bleach is a hazard, the bottle says to only use in a “well ventilated area”!
Please keep believing what the ADVERTISERS say and keep adding to their pockets. THEY wouldn’t have a reason to mislead you now would they?
Explain how a teaspoon of bleach to a gallon of water is more dangerous than the water itself with fluoride, lead, bacterias and parasites and who knows what else in it. If you’ve ever taken a chem class, you’d know baking powder, salt, vinegar can be caustic if not dangerous as well if you’re careless or over indulgent with them. The key is “clean” – whatever works, green or mean. Be responsible, do what works for you and know your facts about products and marketing.
FDA are a bunch of idiots, they once allowed the promotion of smoking as a healthy way to treat the throat!
Stay natural keep the big chemical companies out of your house.
Germs don’t make people sick, weak immune systems do.
I work in a pharmacy and we compound bleach and distilled water to make a dressing that helps heal wounds that are are not healing properly. Small amounts of bleach kill bacteria. You also flush bleach thru well water systems to kill bacteria that can cause illness and swimming pools use chlorine to sanitize the water. And just recently a medical study found that putting a small amount of bleach in kids bath water can help heal eczema. All chemicals are not bad many save lives everyday. The trick is moderation and getting all the facts before you act and write on blogs.
What can I do for my skin, I was cleaning my walls with bleach and it burned the skin of parts of my hands and arms?
THe reason they do this is because bleach is completely safe. IF you know how to use it. All three of my kids are healthy and I have only used clorox to sanitize, but then again, I also have a background in chemistry and know how to make proper dilutions. my guess is that the general public does not. I do not suggest it is for every household, but you should know that Clorox bleach works well because it is oxidized, but cheap-o brands are not always so. be careful what you choose and how you do it folks! babies can be harmed by “natural” cleaners too.
@ Shalini
“I completely agree about the clorox bleach. It DOES NOT belong in a household. I nearly died yesterday after cleaning my bathtub with it. This product s/b banned.”
… a bathroom is typically a small, enclosed area with limited ventilation. Without diluting the bleach in water, of course you are going to run a severe health risk. Even with dilution, you still want to use it when the door is OPEN, with the air vent running.
@ Jamie Irvin:
“Bleach is bad news period. The fumes? Anything that smells so strongly that you must use it in a well ventilated area doesn’t belong in my home.”
If you want a “chemical free home” make sure to filter all your tap water, for every purpose… ever. Tap water has trace chemicals which sanitize it (chlorine, for example… found in BLEACH nonetheless, fluoride, etc)
@ E Magnet:
Yes. I agree 100%
@ the majority of the people saying “BLEACH IS THE DEVIL”… get serious. Learn to dilute things, and how to handle it properly. Heck, even vinegar can be dangerous… splash some of that in your eyes and see what happens.
here’s a solution, if you don’t like it, don’t use it. don’t knock the people who do. its a personal decision, what works for some might not for others. just use common sense while using any chemical.
Microwave to sanitize????? Really I though better advice would have been given by this website. DO NOT USE A MICROWAVE!!!
bleach water is required to be used in the food industry and in childcare! Its one of the finaly stages when cleaning anything. And your not allowed to wipe it off or rinse it off our it deplites the purpose. Bleach water drys and isn’t harmful or they wouldn’t make it reguired!
Laura- most American’s have a microwave in their homes and several companies make microwave sterilization kits for baby bottles. Our home is microwave free, but I recognize that most people do use one.
SJ- Bleach water is NOT required in my state for childcare, it is RECOMMENDED. There is a difference. Believing that governments will only require or recommend an item that is SAFE is incorrect and unsafe thinking. The FDA has proven this many times over. I am a Registered Childcare provider and I do not use chlorine bleach in my home for anything. My inspectors are aware of this. I use hydrogen peroxide or diluted lemon juice or diluted tea tree oil in a spray bottle to disinfect after I clean. It is a safer option for home and the earth.
I just was cleaning for many hours with straight bleach. Now I can’t stop coughing, today, my eyes keep watrering & I keep sneezing, I feel all stopped up in my nose, & I just plain can’t breath very good. What the heck is going on. And what do I do about this. ?? TY. Concerned. Now I feel like I am getting a headache, as well.
Sherry- I would advise lots and lots of fresh air and a call to the Doctor. If you start experiencing respiratory distress, then go to the ER. I’m not a Doctor, but I do know that inhaling chemicals esp. at full strength can be dangerous.-Jamie Ervin
I think some people have chosen to go without Clorox because of the adverse affects that they have experienced after using it incorrectly. I think that Clorox when used with the proper ratio to water is an excellent way to clean and disinfect. I personally use it to keep dirt from collecting in the cracks/scratches in my Corelle dinnerware. It makes them like new. If I were working for Clorox I would advise them to sell their bottles with a smaller pouring spout. I really don’t believe that people use the correct measurements as they say they do. Perhaps people are just pouring straight from the bottle and not paying attention to how much has spilled out. Over pretention makes for overdose.
It is amazing that all these people, except for the ones who have spring or well water, use water all the time that has chlorine in it. The snacks and drinks that kids get cause more problems than chlorine bleach used correctly. Can you find a product today that does not have horrible warnings on it. Do you not have a place to safely store products away from children? Do you have only child safe prescription drugs in your home? Use common sense and get a life.
Nothing is funnier to me than reading chemistry lessons from the completely clueless and uneducated public. This entire thread is stupid. Maybe when your baby comes down with H1N1 this fall you will feel differently.
Clorox bleach is the only cleaning agent that will get a stain out when everything else fails. I have tried all sorts of combos-lemon, vinegar, peroxide, sunlight etc. At the end, a few drops of Clorox and the stains vanish.As far as disinfecting items like toys and baby bottles, use your common sense.If you feel there is mold or certain dirt,put the bleach into hot water,rinse and air dry. Stop whining and talking stupid!!!
You do know that bleach is added to lake and stream water to make it drinkable in primitive situations, don’t you? They sell the tablets at any camping/outdoors outfitter. The same tablets are distributed to disaster areas as well. Chlorine is added to our drinking water to kill germs that get through the filtration process. Restaurants use it to clean and disinfect. In every situation it is always diluted.
Lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda do NOTHING to disinfect! They can be used as cleaners, but they do not kill microorganisms.
There is never a reason to sanitize baby bottles. That’s an old wives’ tale that hasn’t gone the way of the dinosaur. Hot, soapy water works perfectly well for washing them.
In fact, disinfecting everything leads to weaker immune systems in people, and stronger, more-resistant germs. That’s why we now have flesh-eating bacterias, and antibiotic-resistant infections. We created the problem through our obsession with killing all germs.
Common sense, people. Common sense.
Bleach evaporates– that’s why you have to keep putting sanitizing chemicals into a swimming pool!
The directions to clean toys and bottles in bleach are to soak in a dilute solution (1:10 solution). This will sanitize surfaces after a short period of immersion, but the bleach will evaporate from the surface after being allowed to thoroughly dry.
Do some research before you take any one person’s blog entry as truth. People DO get paid to blog about specific products, you know! That’s why there are numerous advertisements on this page you’re reading.
Let all the green people quit using bleach and lets see how bad the flu viruses get out of hand. I’ve worked in the restaraunt biz for many years and you better make sure you have diluted bleach around and ready for when the state department comes to inspect! If the state requires it, it must do the job. Our church has a bleach cycle in our commercial dishwasher-are people going to quit going to church food events? I should think they would feel more confident to use our dishes and utensils than if we were washing with merely dw soap and hot water!
Last week my childrens school had a 20% absentee rate due to the various flu epidemics. 2 children out of 25 in one class were hospitalized. Lets quit using bleach so that your children can infect my children who come from a clean and bleach sanitized home. I am not a bleach freak-small diluted quantities can work quite well. As for septic tanks-asked our plumber-unless you dump gallons a week through your tank it is not harmful to the good bacteria.
I run a diaper service and I have to laugh whenever someone asks us if we use bleach on our diapers. Um, yes, unless you feel comfortable that plain ole soapy water (or vinegar — Ha, that’s a good one!) can protect you and your baby against e. coli, strep bacteria, staph infections, tuberculosis, rotavirus, MRSA, swine flu, and God knows what else! Vinegar does not kill viruses. Some people argue back that we could wash each child’s diapers separately as some services do… to which I ask, How exactly are they disinfecting the MACHINE in between loads??
Honestly, the whole thing with bleach is a concern but it is WAY overblown and bleach does have its place. Maybe it’s not absolutely necessary in the home, but it’s absolutely a blessing when it comes to public services (including restaurants). If you don’t agree, do some research on what public sanitation conditions and disease used to be like.
So bleach is a bad chemical. That’s interesting. Do you people that are against the use of bleach have a pool or allow your children to swim in others pools?
Clorox is Chlorine…..same base for pool Chlorine. Do you drink city water? That has Chlorine in it too. Another poster hit the nail on the head…Just because one person got hurt by not following label directions…………
Kurt-
Personally, my children only swim in chlorine free pools. Since we are “crazy hippies” and proud of it, we also prefer to spend our time outside in rivers and lakes.
My children also do not drink city tap water… chlorine in all forms is not good inside mine or my children’s body.
That said, I can’t speak for everyone.
clorox is the worse thing you can wuse