There is no need for bleach

[DyslexicScientist]

I never use it in my house as I just think there is no need, everything can be done with a bit of elbow grease IMO.

I know people who use toilet bleach to mop the floor, when washing whites, doing the dishes with coffee / tea stains, in a spray bottle for wiping down crumbs in the kitchen. It makes me feel unwell being in certain friends houses that have a bleach fetish.

Anyone else manage to survive without it?

Bleach is the bollox as are bog brushes and boilable rags. Fuck elbow grease. I think only scrubbing your loo once a month is a bit lax.

You don't want bleach everywhere though, it does have a smell. It especially doesn't go with avocado on rye.

My understanding is that bleach breaks down very readily and so is not a huge environmental concern. Also AFAIK it doesn't cause the bacterial resistance you get with more modern antibac sprays (not entirely sure on this, does anybody have any info?)

Never had food poisoning here. None of us have, well except DH when he had mussels in a restaurant.

Hot soapy water has always worked.

I like bleach, I love the smell of it. I use it for my toilets, sinks the odd time, the floors and I use bleach when I deck scrub my yard.

I use bleach. Elbow grease doesn't kill germs.
I use it for toilets and plug holes not daily. I get rid of tea stains in cups with it too, being given a cuppa in a brown stain cup is grim. I get most of the tea stains with hot soapy water and a microfibre cloth.
If anyone is sick in the house I wipe down light switches, door handles, and other well touched places, I find it does stop the spread as much as I can.
Dh wipes down the kitchen with disinfectant spray a couple times a week I use a hot soapy cloth that is replaced daily.

Another bleach thread! Amazing how much emotion is stirred up by bleach.

I must admit to loving giving it a good slosh around as it makes up for my general lack of housekeepyness. However, 2015 on MN seemed to be the year of bleach and the lovely sparkling and I meet many times discussing the topic. So much so that now I imagine her gagging and heaving (with her imagined face) so I do it less.

Now I am a fan of the microfibre cloth and very warm soapy water. This is my new thing.

Two things additionally.

I grew up in filth. And was almost never ever ill. Not sure bleach was anything to do with that

I once poured hydrogen peroxide on my legs in an attempt to bleach my leg hair.

I don't use bleach at all.
hate the smell and hate how it lingers in your hair after swimming.
warm soapy water gets most surfaces hygienically clean in a normal healthy household.

Love bleach.

Sil does not and only uses natural eco stuff. Which is why her shower was black and the kitchen grey. Until I got my bleach on it and then it was sparkling! Sil said she didn't know how I got it so clean

I haven't had food poising either. It's not particularly common to give yourself food poisoning I imagine, even less common for it to be from poor hygiene rather than, say, reheating or eating food that's spoiled

Bloody love bleach I do!

U2 - are you sure your DH doesn't have an intolerance or an allergy to mussels, rather than he ate dodgy ones? Just curious as the last 3 times my DH has eaten mussels (each time abroad) he has been very ill overnight but fine the next morning, and we've thought if it was food poisoning he'd be iller for longer.

Bleach (and chlorine in swimming pools) give me asthma attacks, so I don't use it (though I do use the anti-mould bathroom spray on tiles, which makes me slightly asthmatic/breathless so I imagine is v similar!).
I use eco toilet cleaner, and my bathroom definitely doesn't smell - either of a urinal or of a swimming pool.
I don't use anti-bac stuff generally, though do own some anti-bac wipes which I use if DD has been "helping" me cook pork/chicken. I don't really believe these are necessary, but they make me feel like a groan-up.

The only D&V I've had was when I had amoebic dysentery (in India about 20 years ago). No fp or norovirus. Despite my lack of anti-bac and bleach, I still managed to develop asthma in my 30's!

I don't really know Annie the place we went to is a very good place and famous for their mussels so it could be more likely it's an allergy.

I know he had them in the past and was sick as well, but there was one time when he ate them and he was fine.

His was also quite short lasting sickness.

I do think the bleach threads make me feel a bit queasy now.

I used to think the Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners programme was exaggerated but now I'm not so sure.

I only use it to put down the loo and sometimes plug holes overnight. Would never do cleaning with it. The smell is quite frightening.

The smell can't be good for your lungs surely? It makes your eyes water and then you are breathing it in? And some are enjoying it?

I use it on the toilet because, frankly, the children's bottoms produce nuclear-weapons-grade atomic shites on a frequent basis and I cannot imagine how else I'd clean that.

I don't think I ever bought it before having DCs though, because rose petals fall from my arse instead of poop since I am a lady.

Didn't we have a bleach thread the other day? - Problem with bleach for the environment is in the manufacturing process.
I use a tiny amount of bleach for stains -like mouldy silicone seal in the shower...I have had a 1L bottle for at least 2 yrs -still got plenty left.
I use reusable cleaning cloths. I don't use antibac anything. I use (gasp) standard bar soap for handwashing.
I generally use ecover washing up liquid, vinegar and bicarb for everything... (vinegar is a great loo cleaner - especially for limescale). I wipe down worktops with soapy water.
I have steam mop (for my laminate floors - with DCs I really wouldn't have anything else...and I did look at all the options as I 'don't like laminate' mines about 12yr old and still ok - the odd scratch etc - but doesn't reflect the amount of crap it has had spilt on it/abuse it has sustained - never needed anything doing to it except the odd mop...although I did wipe up the nail varnish spills with acetone - oh and the 2 L of paint got a wipe down with white spirit...)).
We are never ill - DD2 vomited for the first time in 3+ years just before Christmas. The rest of us were fine. (I did wash the sink and the carpet with a bit of dettol though...she didn't make the loo...and bleach and the carpet wouldn't have been a good mix)

White vinegar is great. I use it to descale the kettle too. Works a treat.

Not sure its a enjoyable smell but its a reassuring smell.

There was a thread a few days ago with someone suggesting chucking bleach about on MN to get rid of the nasties or something. And another one about storing toilet cleaner next to the toilet being a no no........

I use to house share with a girl who would bleach the kitchen top to bottom and finish off by bleaching all of the mugs. She would leave them for an hour or two with bleach in to get rid of the stains.
She would also run a bath with Dettol in.

I use to worry for her/our health.
I am not a bleach lover- surely she was poisoning us by bleaching the mugs all the time?

Where are we on zoflora?

I tried six months of natural prducts - bicarb, lemon juice etc - ended up having driving to physio regularly with tennis elbow from having to scrub so hard (feeble joints) - just bad for the environment.

Can't stand using bleach. I do occasionally use it for treating mould but I always, always end up with bleach spots on my clothing

Dettol for everything else. I have a 5 star rating on my kitchen (for work purposes, rather than personal pride ) and I was advised just to use dettol (with paper towel) for business use as it is guaranteed to meet the standard and saves writing out a policy on checking the standards on cheaper anti-bac products and using appropriately laundered cloths. I do use the apple dettol for preference.