Mold And Bleach

  • Disadvantages of Using Chlorine Bleach

    The following disadvantages of using chlorine bleach were published “Bleach Usage” on Facility-maintenance.com—

    1. Chlorine bleach lacks the ability to cut through dirt. A surface or object being cleaned and disinfected must first be cleaned if bleach is going to be used as disinfectant, adding time and labor costs to any project. “Organic material readily inactivates these disinfectants, so the surface must be cleaned first,” said one industry consultant. “You have to essentially double the time that it should take to clean and disinfect a soiled surface.” [In a 2004 study of five different household products to try to clean a moldy shower curtain, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the least effective product was chlorine bleach.]

    2. More disadvantages of chlorine bleach are as follow—

  • Bleach loses strength rapidly: Carol Bush, area manager for contract cleaner Central Property Services, Pittsburgh, said a bleach/water solution left on a shelf for any period of time will lose its effectiveness. At the same time, said cleaning industry educator William Griffin, Cleaning Consultant Services Inc, Seattle, bleach loses its effectiveness quickly when being used, “gassing off” before most disinfecting can be accomplished.

  • Bleach can hide dirt: The bleach can make some soil transparent, leading a cleaner to think he/she has actually cleaned a surface when in fact the soil remains there, said Michael Smith, academic custodial supervisor, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA.

  • Bleach damages floor finishes: Bleach attacks floor coatings, eating away at their effectiveness.

  • Bleach damages fibers, carpets etc.

  • Bleach corrodes hard surfaces: Metals and other surfaces can not only be corroded, but discolored.

  • Bleach causes health concerns: Improper use of bleach – either using too much or mixing it with certain products – such as those that contain ammonia hydrochloric acid, acetic acid and phosphoric acid – can create hazardous health conditions. [Another bleach health hazard: bleach can contaminate groundwater.]