Bleach 101

Going back to the basics for Bleach 101.

Advice from our experts •
05/26/15 • 68954

What is the difference between chlorine and non-chlorine bleach? Can you only use each on certain things? What’s best for cleaning and for laundry use. If the bleach doesn’t specify which kind it is, does that mean it’s always chlorine un...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
04/08/10 • 43155

Can you tell me the difference between color safe and non-color safe bleach? The bleach active in Clorox® Regular Bleach2 is sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). This is the bleach that people sometimes refer to as “chlorine bleach” (even though the active i...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
11/20/13 • 34645

My husband, who loves bleach, sent me your video the other day because I think bleach is bad for the environment. I listened to it and thought, “Wow, I must have been wrong all this time. Bleach isn’t bad for the environment; it is just s...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
02/09/10 • 24922

I have a standard washer and wanted to wash some whites with bleach. I wanted to know, after I wash a load using bleach, do I need to run an empty cycle to eliminate any bleach residue? I don’t want any of my color clothing to get ruined if the...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
01/25/16 • 11555

How much Clorox® Regular Bleach2 should I use when it comes to colored clothes? And should I add my dark clothes before or after adding Clorox® Regular Bleach2 to the water? To bleach colored items, it’s important to check their colorfastness to bl...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
07/27/11 • 14607

What is the difference between non-chlorine and chlorine bleach? This chlorine and non-chlorine terminology is very old, and I feel, misleading. It is an attempt to classify product actives and is then intended for product usage. Our Clorox 2® Stain ...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
08/20/09 • 13540

Throughout my years, I’ve answered many questions about bleach and the safety of using it. Despite what you may be thinking, properly bleaching fabrics will not destroy them. There, I said it! And it’s not just because I work for Clorox. We’ve done ...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
07/07/06 • 16032

What is bleach? The active ingredient in household bleach is sodium hypochlorite, which is derived from salt.  In fact, Clorox is headquartered in Oakland, California because we started making bleach here by running electricity through salt water fro...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
01/23/12 • 6823

I have just noticed a stain on two items of my clothing. One is a white polo shirt and the other a normal t-shirt material. I’ve tried using a stain remover, soaking it and pre treating it but no joy. My next thought was bleach. Will it be okay...

Advice from Dr. Laundry •
04/22/15 • 11492