bleach - does anybody actually use it for anything other than the toilet?

[lucytails]

i try and avoid the stuff if possible. It stinks but yet i like the clinical germ kill effect of the stuff in my toilets but wouldn't use it anywhere else. I remember my auntie though used to use it all over the house. Kitchen surfaces, floors, drains, etc. Her place used to smell like a swimming pool! What do other people use bleach for these days, if they do at all?

[pud1]

i use it on kitchen floor and sometimes living room floor. i love the smell. feels like i have given the place a good clean

[PuppyMonkey]

I sometimes use it to clean the sink, comes up a treat.

[mousymouse]

I don't use it at all.
all purpose cleaner does the job.

[GypsyMoth]

I bleach tea stained cups/teaspoons

Down plugholes

Sometimes diluted to remove stains on clothes(whites)

Clean out bins with diluted bleach

[aquos]

Cleaning kitchen sink

I used to hate the smell of it, but quite like it these days.

[Fuzzywuzzywozabear]

I don't use it because smell makes my stomach turn (reminds me of school sick bay) I prefer disinfectant preferably a pine smell

[newpup]

I use it to clean my kitchen sink and clean out the kitchen bin.

[billgrangersrisotto]

I use it like your auntie used to.

[billgrangersrisotto]

That sounds a bit sinister reading back! I mean, I use bleach diluted as a cleaner for everything.

[GypsyMoth]

I also clean the bathroom with the flash bleach spray.

[theginganinja]

Just for the lav and the bins. Am not keen on the smell of 'swimming pool' either . I just use vinegar and stardrops for household cleaning and bicarb for anything that needs a bit of abrasive like hob tops etc. Bicarb also good for whitening cups and cleaning manky grout in tiles, I would NEVER put bleach in something I was going to drink out of.

[nannyl]

i dont put bleach down my toilet. At least not often.

I bought 2 bottles of thick bleach when i moved house 5 years ago and still have nearly a whole bottle left.

sometimes i out some down the kitchen sink, but more often i use a load of soda crystals and a kettle full of boiling water. (I have used it with a toothbrush on tile grout too)
I hate putting any harsh chemicals into our water system, and use environmentally friendlier products and soda crystals / white vinegar much more than harsh chemicals, although I agree they do have there uses sometimes!

[bibbitybobbityhat]

I never use it, the smell literally makes me heave.

[trickycat]

what is a stardrop?

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

There is no need for bleach anywhere in the house.

The effectiveness of bleach is significantly reduced by the presence of many types of 'dirt'. Other detergent you can buy contain both the detergent to clean and a disenfecting agent to kill bugs - and are actually more effective than bleach used in isolation.

Not only that but bleach is horrifically toxic (probably one of the most toxic things you can buy off the shelf), and that's when used correctly....

[4madboys]

i have a white sink and use it to clean that every so often, fill sink up with HOT water and add bleach and leave it for a while, its the only thing that makes the sink white again.

[HoneyPablo]

I don't use it very often as the smell makes me very ill and sometimes brings on vomiting and migraine type headaches, but it is the only thing that gets rid of mould and stops it growing back that I have found.

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

Biological washing powder in a damp white sink (assuming you mean a plastic textured one).

Leave for 20 mins...rub the powder in with a scrubbing brush/toothbrush. Leave for a while longer. Wipe over & rinse viola

[theginganinja]

Stardrops, it's this dirt cheap soapless cleaner www.macbuildingproducts.com/product_info.php?products_id=14945
I just dilute half and half with white vinegar in a spray bottle and spray on, rinse off. I use it on sinks, worktops on the shower doors etc, works much better than any expensive cleaner I've ever used.

[EverSoLagom]

I bleach the loos and down the plugholes every once in a while, and diluted bleach for the bathroom floor and the bins. Also use it to clean up my kitchen/utility sinks, and neat on an old toothbrush to scrub up the grout between my bathroom tiles.

[FloydieDoydie]

I love bleach . Ibuse it for loos, sinks, floors, soaking dishcloths etc.

And, having watched the Wonderstuff programe on BBC2 recently, it's perfectly safe when it comes to sewage/waterworks. Apparently because it breaks down into basically water - something about it being so reactive that it reacts itself out

Also, bleach is in loads of other cleaning products, so you are probably using it even when you think you aren't

[DreamTeamGirl]

Just for loos, but my cleaner uses it for other things as I often find it in the kitchen ...

[fourkids]

everything! loos every night, floors, kitchen sink and surfaces, diluted for stains on washing, chopping boards, grout, tea stains in cups, kitchen bin, fridge...

[Ragwort]

4madboys - I totally agree re: white sinks - I have had them in my last three houses and whilst they look lovely when new (or clean) they are so hard to keep looking good - I was delighted when we bought our current house and have a lovely stainless steel sink .

I use bleach for toilets, kitchen floor, drains (tea pot and cups - this thread has reminded me - but I don't drink tea muself .)

[jetgirl]

Am that people clean teapots and cups with bleach. I use steradent tablets, ok admittedly a sort of bleach, but it is designed for dentures so I see it as ok for something I would drink out of.

I discovered stardrops earlier this year, love it. I use bleach for toilets and for toilets and soaking my dishcloth in.