Believe it or not, bleaching had its beginnings in ancient times. Some 7,000 years ago, when the Egyptians relied on washing and sun drying to whiten clothes, the Pompeiians bleached their wool by "stoving" – smoking their clothes over a sulfur fire.
Today, the power of Clorox® Regular-Bleach goes far beyond whitening. In its transformation to the product we know on the shelf, bleach has been called a "miracle in a bottle," and it's the most widely available, affordable disinfectant on Earth. Since it was introduced in 1913, Clorox® Regular-Bleach has had a long history of use in places where killing germs is critical—in hospitals, nursing homes, child care centers and restaurants.
From the battlefield to outer space
During World War I—in the days before penicillin—the lives of some wounded soldiers were saved by the antibacterial properties of bleach. During World War II, bleach continued to be used to destroy bacteria. Today, bleach is recommended for use during emergencies to disinfect water and to help control contamination. This even applies in space; in 1969, the Apollo space station was disinfected with bleach upon return.
Since its founding, Clorox has responded to appeals for donations of bleach from the American Red Cross and the World Health Organization during times of natural disaster. Today bleach is on the front lines, the trusted disinfectant of choice, in the battle against cross-contamination in hospitals. In fact, bleach is so closely linked to public health that it probably should have come as no surprise when scientists, working in the mid-1990s, discovered that the body actually uses similar chemistry (producing hypoclorous acid) as part of an immune response to invading pathogens.
Saving lives every day
Disinfecting bleach's most enduring role is the one it plays everyday—protecting families by killing viruses and bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli on the surfaces where they can spread. Considering the reduction in waterborne disease as reported by Dr. Abel Wolman during his years as president of the American Public Health Association, one could say that bleach has saved more lives than any other substance made by man.
For more information about bleach visit www.factsaboutbleach.com.
