Should use bleach with hot or cold water?

tawnyowls

MATH wrote:

Boy do I feel smug!! I always use bleach for my white and pastal laundry - so no colds at Chez MATH this winter eh?

Bleach cannot be made inefective by using hot water because I have been adding it to my white washes for years,

It's been used for decades in that way. It's only because of the fumes that it's better not to use hot water - I always use warm. The only thing likely to make bleach ineffective is lots of organic matter on the surface - that's why you should clean with water and detergent first and then disinfect with the bleach once the actual dirt has been removed.

Bambywamby

Like Madauri said -I think bleach lets off a higher concentrate of fumes when heated - so it shouldn't be used in areas where there is no ventilation - also it should never be mixed with any other chemicals again incase it lets off toxic gases.

MATH

janb5 wrote:

Dont you find there is a danger of rotting your clothes using bleach.I thought Ace bleach was kinder?

My towels are 15 years old and have always been washed this way. Granted they are becomming a little frayed around the edges (arn't we all) but after 15 years I would expect that so I don't think bleach used in the right quantities and for the right soak times does as much damage as you would expect.

tawnyowls

It's the concentrated bleach that tends to rot clothes - as long as the bleach is diluted by the time it hits the clothes, it shouldn't be a problem. I think Ace can be used directly in the drum, can't it? If you did that with normal bleach, whatever was closest to the bleach as it tipped out would probably end up with holes in it, whereas if you put it in the tray, it would be diluted as it passed down through the pipes. Cotton is pretty resistant to bleach anyway - most cotton is prebleached before it's made into cloth.

kiwichick

Guys, am about to put on a white wash so thought O'd best ask before actually chucking in the bleach!

Am I right in thinking I add it while the water is going into the machine so as not to get marks on clothes?

How much do I put in??

Is it for white washes only or do you put it in darks too?

Thanks,
Al.