Shame on you Clorox: Bleach Doesn’t Belong in our Homes
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!)
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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.
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?