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The Safe Water Project

Using bleach to increase access to clean water in Peru

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Disinfecting Water across the Globe

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Disinfecting Water Across the Globe

More than 663 million people in the world live without clean water and, in many areas, unsafe drinking water is the leading cause of illness and malnutrition.1

Over the years, Clorox has donated disinfecting bleach to aid disaster relief in the U.S. and around the world and supported several global programs aimed at stopping infections. The Clorox® Safe Water Project, which began in Peru, was the first time Clorox was leading an effort to address the chronic problem of unsafe drinking water. Since its launch the Project showed strong results, with more than 60% of homes treating their water with disinfecting bleach.

Partnering With Evidence Action to Support Families in Kenya & Uganda

Building on that success in 2018, The Clorox Company signed a three-year partnership with Evidence Action to supply disinfecting solution, similar to the bleach in your home, in support of their Dispensers for Safe Water program in Kenya and Uganda. Through this partnership with Dispensers for Safe Water, the Clorox Company will help Evidence Action bring safe drinking water to 3.4 million people by 2020 in addition to the communities the Clorox® Safe Water Project still supports in Peru.

1. http://files.unicef.org/publications/files...

The Transformative Power of Bleach

Every day over 16 million liters of water are purified. The Clorox® Safe Water Project is using the disinfecting power of bleach to provide over 6 billion liters of safe, drinkable water to more than 1 million people every year. By 2020, the Clorox® Safe Water Project has set a goal of helping over 3.4 million people and providing over 11 billion liters of safe water a year.

a woman and child gathering water
The Safe Water Project

How Safe Water Works

A Two-Step Effort

Bleach Dispensers

The bleach dispensers provide a low-cost and sustainable solution for water treatment and disinfecting.

Education & Promotion

We provide educational and training sessions to the local communities to help encourage them to make use of the project’s resources.

Why Bleach Works Best

Sodium hypochlorite, the main ingredient in Clorox® Bleach, kills over 99% of bacteria and viruses commonly found in untreated water.

Bacteria and viruses are easily re-introduced to boiled water, but bleach stands guard for 24 to 48 hours and kills the vast majority of bad stuff that can infect a water supply.

Community-based bleach disinfecting projects can be scaled with modest resources.