To think that you don't really need to use bleach for everything all the time?

[SusanMichelson]

I keep seeing people commenting on how often they use bleach in their cleaning routine and I'm really surprised by how much it seems to be used.

I never use bleach unless someone is ill and usually not even then - just a disinfectant spray.

My kitchen and bathroom are lovely and clean. I usually just use a damp sponge or cloth with a bit of washing up liquid or whatever.

I don't get why people think bleach is necessary - and it is so poisonous, not just to us but to fish and so on. It makes me really to think there's so much of it being washed down the plug hole.

AIBU to think it doesn't really make things any cleaner than just soapy water or maybe another less harsh chemical for really tough stuff?

I promise I'm not an eco warrior or hippy. It just never really occurred to me to use the stuff except when we had a superbug and then it was necessary for a few months. Nasty stuff!

My mum has worked in the food industry for decades and has done all of her food hygiene certs numerous times (they have to be undated regularly) and she has never been told not to use bleach due to its toxicity. Im not sure what she does use in the commercial kitchens as she probably uses whatever is ordered by head office but I'm pretty certain that the use of bleach has never been covered on any of her annual hygiene tests.

But why bother with the washing up liquid? Just do the bleach thing if it kills all the bugs. Seems like twice the work.

Because as others have said, bleach doesnt clean the dirt, it bleaches it. Washing up liquid to clean the dirt, bleach to kill the germs.

I love the smell of bleach, and use it for everything really. Even if it doesn't warrant neat bleach, I use flash with bleach or whatever....For cleaning the toilet, sink, worktops, stove top, floors, wiping down the bins, front of the fridge etc.
don't see the problem with it, and can't think of an alternative I would use.

The people using vinegar here are some stupid questions I need answering before I bin the bleach.
What stops your house stinking of vinegar?
Why type of vinegar do you use?
How do you make up the solution?

I read a thread about stardrops white vinegar spray here and bought some ...but my house smelled like a chippy and I ended up getting the bleach out to clean over it

Stardrops vinegar is a great cleaner but does smell vinegary (surprise!) but better than bleach smell. I use it on the stainless steel sink.

I now think my cleaning routine needs an overhaul as it is not complicated enough.

Vinegar is a good deodoriser too. The vinegar smell disappears IME. I used to rinse my hair in it.

I use one part white vinegar to 3 parts water in a plant spray. I did my windows with it about an hour ago and there is no smell of vinegar now. Of course you could open the window to get rid of unpleasant smells!
What are all these germs that need killing? I rarely bleach anything and I haven't been sick in years despite being a teacher stuck with a lot of germy kids all day! A few germs are good for your immunity.

www.rsph.org.uk/download.cfm?docid=4B0680EE-634F-4D1C-869A25B24853092A

I went and checked to satisfy my own curiosity and the advice about using bleach in kitchen and food prep areas is that it should be diluted according to the manufacturers instructions (which is just common sense surely). So I'm. It sure why some people studying basic food hygeine are told that it is too toxic for use in kitchens.

I am quite glad if that's what they are being told.

I did my food hygiene a long time ago, it might have changed!

I have not read all 8 pages, but did you know how bad bleach is for small children with eg asthma?

Yes, I know someone who is obsessively house proud - cleans the oven every time she uses it, bleaches the loo every day and so on. Both she and her DS have terrible asthma. They both get ill all the time too. I've thought for a long time that their house is just too clean and that some normal germs would be better for them than all the cleaning chemicals.

" Both she and her DS have terrible asthma. They both get ill all the time too. I've thought for a long time that their house is just too clean "

I know , my next door neighbour was like this. Her house was immaculate and smelt of lovely fake perfumes and cleaning stuff all the time.
Yet her son suffered with awful excema and asthma....
She had never made the connection...

Then you are pouring your money down the drain! It doesn't actually clean anything. It just makes you think that your house is clean by bleaching the dirt. [the clue is in the name].

Cool, I'm still going to use it though as it definitely makes my house feel clean.

No not a nursing home, just a normal 3 bed house.

Oh, and I would hardly say I was pouring money down the drain - bleach is about 75p!

Slagbol. don't you ever walk past a river that's all choked up with brown foam and think about what you're contributing to?

If we all did what you do, there probably wouldn't be any live fish at all anywhere.

I'm not surprised to hear it is bad for asthma.

No I don't

Ok. But how depressing to think there are people out there who actually don't give a shit.

Unfortunately there's a lot of depressing shit going on in the world and you just have to personally organise your priorities. That just isn't one of mine.

It would be so bloody easy to stop though. It's not even like asking someone to become a vegetarian or stop using their car.

Not using bleach at a rate of 2 bottles a week isn't difficult. There are other products out there. Water is quite good on its own tbh.

Can you imagine if everyone used 2 bottles of bleach a week? I hope that it's a rarity.

I'm a bit rubbish with cleaning. House is not dirty but I rarely use bleach. I figure I must be doing something right as dc are rarely ill. I just use a kitchen spray and put those block things in the toilet cistern. With a family of five it's pointless cleaning much