Does Color-Safe Bleach Kill Bacteria?

Non-Chlorine Bleach

• Non-chlorine bleach can come in both powdered or liquid form. Popular brand names include OxiClean, Wolmans Deck and Siding Brightener or Ajax Oxygen Bleach Powder Cleanser. Oxygen bleach is a substance that releases oxygen when it is mixed with water. This makes the solution bubble, which helps work out stains.

Advantages

• Color-safe bleach has several advantages. Besides the fact that it won't remove color from laundry, it has a longer shelf life than chlorine bleach, and it will brighten fabric. It can also be mixed with other cleaning solutions without causing a toxic gas the way chlorine bleach can. Color-safe bleach is also non-toxic to people and animals. It is environmentally friendly, because it will break down to natural soda ash when it is used.

Disadvantages

• Color-safe bleach does have some setbacks. Its inability to remove color from textiles can be a major disadvantage if you want to remove stains from white clothes. It also takes a longer time to work and remove stains than chlorine bleach does. It is not suitable for wool or silk and will actually degrade the fabric.

Using Color-Safe Bleach

• Use color-safe bleach to remove bacteria from home surfaces as well as from laundry. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions when using color-safe bleach. This will normally require you to mix the powder or liquid with water and scrub it onto a surface or add it to a washing machine. Always rinse the surfaces or the clothes once they are clean, to remove the residue.

Liquid vs. Powder

• You can purchase liquid or powdered non-chlorine, color-safe bleach. By weight the liquid version is significantly cheaper than the powdered version, but liquid non-chlorine bleach is mostly water. Liquid bleach is easier to use because you don't need to mix it, but it has a shorter shelf life.