Does Bleach Really Kill Mold?

[Robert Green]

[notbob]

I'd be interested to know why chlorine bleach has suddenly become ineffective in the control of mold, particularly since it's been used quite effectively for over a century in the food industry. I worked in canneries waaay back in my youth and industrial strength chlorine bleach (definitely NOT yer mother's Clorox) was our main mojo. Even on wood, it kept mold at levels that killed all food toxins.

We'd run those food lines 3 shifts per day for 6 days per week. On Sunday, those who wanted overtime came in and knocked down the mold on the processing lines. I'm talking long strands of slime hanging off the food conveyor belts which had been growing for a week. I'd knock off the big slime and mold with a 50 psi pressure washer and legions of bucket/brush carrying workers would follow up with this burn-yer-eyeballs-outta-yer-skull strength bleach. Even the pine 2X4s covering the waste drains were deslimed and bleached. Why has this now suddenly been rendered non-effective? Is bleach now really not working or did some slimey chem company with a lotta lobbyists come out with a new sanitizer that's gonna save the industry and it needs the feds to turn the tide in their favor. Or has all our toxic chems created a new super-mold that renders chlorine bleach impotent? Seriously.

nb

[Moe DeLoughan]

So yeah, bleach kills mold. However, it can damage porous materials, and improper use, especially in confined spaces, can be hazardous. OSHA makes the point that disposing of soaked porous materials is generally the best solution, and mold can be cleaned off hard-surfaced materials with any cleaning solution, including soapy water. Therefore, the use of bleach isn't required. That's not the same as saying it is ineffective.

[notbob]

So can the stuff you use to clean soap scum outta yer tub, not to mention stepping off yer front porch.

Starting to sound like the insurance industry has their meddling fingers in this.

nb

[Robert Macy]

YES!!! and very instantaneously.

You can even wash mold off bread or cheese. However, with porous surfaces like edibles, or wood; the mycelium goes a LONG way down inside. So, washing with bleach kills, ...but not completely. Plus, and here's the real downside, the carrier of sodium hypochlorite is WATER. So you've just dampened a moldy surface, better dry it quickly.

Bleach is so active that it will even break up virii molecules. Therefore, Veterinarians, between patients when confronted with unknown epidemics, traditionally wash down their examining tables with bleach and even dunk their hands into a tub of bleach...a big OW if you've ever done that all day long. There are less caustic chemicals available now, but it is my understanding that bleach is still the most reliable method of sanitizing. It's kind of like burning, without the flame.

By the way, my grandfather, who worked in heavy chlorine environments at a water preparation plant once told me the antidote for excessive chlorine exposure is caffeine (?) I always questioned that especially after I was 'overexposed during a mold remediation process. I opted for cream/mil products to make the mucosa tissues activate. Worked better for me.

As to why the sudden interest in removing bleach [which quickly deteriorates with time] from use, is unknown to me. Like, trying to get the industry to quit bleaching paper products even with recycled paper. SAY WHAT?! Hey, I use paper products during food preparation. I want that stuff clean as possible.

Any theories as to why the sudden attempt to dismiss bleach, remove it from the shelves?

[harry]

The problem with bleach is that it is neutralised by virtually any organic substance. So often it is neutralised before it can penetrate things such as textiles. Also whatever is to be disinfected, has to be cleaned first.

[harry]

It's a matter of degree.

[Robert]

So is sodium.... Dirt is a key component of steel bridges.... Water is a key component of bourbon. Urine contains key components of fertilizer... Obama is a key component of socialism. Metal is a key component of bullets.....

... Big Damn Deal

[bud--]

Collected FUD from the "Living Life Force Institute" "a group of like-minded alternative healthcare practitioners"

Among the wisdom: "Chlorine is a key component of DIOXIN" It is also a key component of table salt.

[gregz]

Most of the mold is on the surface of wood. Chlorine will fix that. It will also make it disappear. Other products might kill, but not make it disappear. They often sand blast using dry ice. Just keep things dry afterward.

Greg

[trader4]

LOL, good find! How about this one:

"What potential mold 'killing' power chlorine bleach might have, is diminished significantly as the bleach sits in warehouses, on grocery store shelves or inside your home or business 50% loss in killing power in just the first 90 days inside a never opened jug or container. Chlorine constantly escapes through the plastic walls of its containers. "

I guess all the pools that use liquid chlorine are unsafe because the chlorine isn't any good and incapable of disinfecting a swimming pool. Yet a gallon or two poured into a 30,000 gallon pool establishes a level sufficient to kill germs in pools, consistent with all pool authority water standards. And that you measure the active chlorine with a test kit and see it shows that the chlorine is there.

[gregz]

Most of the chlorine now says concentrated. How much ? I wonder if you can tell by the color poured in a beaker. I'm going to look, cause I'm using some in the drains.

Greg

[nestork]

Bleach doesn't kill mold?

Every time I put bleach on mold, the mold disappears and the surface remains clean for weeks afterward.

Have I just been halucinating that all my life?

[CRNG]

On 13 Mar 2013 14:32:51 GMT, notbob wrote in Re Re: Does Bleach Really Kill Mold?:

It's cheap, safe, effective and easy to use. Professional mold-treatment companies hate that, so their Washington lobby is pressuring the feds to switch to something that can only be applied by licensed professionals. This is the prelude.

We've seen it work this way before.

[notbob]

I alluded to same. The only diff is the instigating faction. No surprise whatsoever.

nb

[Stormin Mormon]

First hit on startpage search:

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

.

I'd be interested to know why chlorine bleach has suddenly become ineffective in the control of mold, particularly since it's been used quite effectively for over a century in the food industry. I worked in canneries waaay back in my youth and industrial strength chlorine bleach (definitely NOT yer mother's Clorox) was our main mojo. Even on wood, it kept mold at levels that killed all food toxins.

We'd run those food lines 3 shifts per day for 6 days per week. On Sunday, those who wanted overtime came in and knocked down the mold on the processing lines. I'm talking long strands of slime hanging off the food conveyor belts which had been growing for a week. I'd knock off the big slime and mold with a 50 psi pressure washer and legions of bucket/brush carrying workers would follow up with this burn-yer-eyeballs-outta-yer-skull strength bleach. Even the pine 2X4s covering the waste drains were deslimed and bleached. Why has this now suddenly been rendered non-effective? Is bleach now really not working or did some slimey chem company with a lotta lobbyists come out with a new sanitizer that's gonna save the industry and it needs the feds to turn the tide in their favor. Or has all our toxic chems created a new super-mold that renders chlorine bleach impotent? Seriously.

nb

[Stormin Mormon]

Think: FREON. If it works, someone will ban it.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

.

It's cheap, safe, effective and easy to use. Professional mold-treatment companies hate that, so their Washington lobby is pressuring the feds to switch to something that can only be applied by licensed professionals. This is the prelude.

We've seen it work this way before.

[gregz]

Comparing new bottle with old, the new was greener liquid.

Greg

[Han]

"Robert Green" wrote in news:khq16p$lit$ [e-mail]:

This is baloney. Bleach is an alkaline oxidizing agent. A rather powerful one, but of course it depends on quantity and concentration. Although pretty darn strong, household bleach isn't the strongest solution of sodium hypochlorite one could have.

Wood is a porous structure made of materials that are organic, and thus many parts are suceptible to oxidation. The porous structure would allow molds to grow into the wood to various depth. On other words, if the mold has had a long time to grow on or in the wood, and of course depending on the wood's porosity structure, it might take a long time for the bleach to reach all of the mold's "tentacles". By that time the alkaline bleach might either have completely digested the wood, or lost its strength while oxidizing all that organic wood material. So I could understand the statement bleach can't kill the mold totally.

Another aspect is the dioxins. These are complex organic molecules with chlorine atoms covalently bound. You'd get these because there are complex organic molecules in the wood that could react with the chlorine in the bleach. Hence in some countries the use of bleach is restricted or use is not recommended. The brown coffee filters that are sold are the result: Paper is used that isn't bleached to prevent dioxins from contaminating the filters AND "poison" you after they leach out of the paper of the filter. Of course since you may still be smoking cigarettes, that shouldn't make a difference .

[harry]

Pointless.