To refuse to buy bleach?

[Eastie77Returns]

First world problem alert.

Our cleaner has asked demanded that I add Domestos bleach to my cleaning products. There's been a bit of an ongoing issue for a while now as I have trialed various eco-friendly cleaning products over the last few months and she generally doesn't like them. I have changed a couple of times in the hope she will get on better with a new range but she has a preference for products that contain high levels of chemicals. I understand they are the go-too products that she trusts but I just don't want to use them.

At the moment she is begrudgingly using the Ecover products I most recently bought. Now she is insisting she needs bleach to clean properly because Ecover doesn't really cut it. I said no as I just can't have it in the house. The smell is one thing but it's so toxic and dangerous (I'm absolutely haunted by an acquaintance whose young child inhaled some). She is a really good cleaner and in high demand. I'm aware she's already given notice to two households on our street because they did not fall in line with her requests (not cleaning product related, something else).

Has anyone used any of the 'natural' bleach products currently out there and were they effective?

Can you find out what specifically she needs it for!? I use the bower collective pine toilet cleaner and their limescale remover and much prefer both to bleach and viakal. Their glass cleaner is great too.
I also think Method is a good in between, as slightly more eco friendly but still strong scents and probably not as eco as they make out.
I don't use bleach and I run air bnbs, there's no need really, it's a disinfectant so not actually a very good "cleaner", I find specific products like limescale remover, toilet cleaners and surface sprays much gentler and better for actual dirt. Bleach I occasionally use for stains on sheets but that's all.

it doesn't unless you have really old lead or copper pipes.

Small squirt Bleach every other day at least. Deeper clean with cif and a rubber glove

I can’t use the typical bleach I used to use because I developed an allergy to it.

However, it’s just the fumes - I can still use toilet bleach.

Are you stating that you won’t even buy toilet bleach??

When I worked as a cleaner many, many years ago the company I worked for had a policy of not using bleach because it is a hazardous substance.
We were employed in various business premises.
Some clients weren't happy about this policy and would actually buy bleach themselves and try and get us to use it. So it was a bone of contention even back then.

I don't like bleach, don't like the smell, the damage to fabrics etc from accidental splashes, and potential environmental unfriendliness. Also, limescale is a problem in my area, and bleach doesn't remove it, it just bleaches it! I prefer eco limescale removers for the toilet and sinks, and diluted disinfectant for the hard. floors. I have this disagreement with my partner who likes the smell, isn't used to hard water, and thinks bleach is the only thing that cleans germs on floors.
I had a cleaner years ago who insisted on me buying the disposable 'fluffy dusters ' and it used to really grate... but she wasn't doing a great job tbh. I also had a childminder who wouldn't take on my son using cloth nappies, so that was a deal breaker for me at the time.
In your situation I would say you really don't like ibleach (smell, danger, horror story) and maybe you could accept her cleaning standards being slightly lower in the areas she would normally use it in. And if you are in a hard water area make sure you have something which tackles limescale!

Clean it yourself

Well you are entitled to say you won't but bleach. She's entitled to say she feels she needs bleach to do the job the way she wants to do it.

I suppose it's a who blinks first scenario.

Used eco-over toilet cleaner multiple times and personally it’s one of my favourites but I do also use normal bleach
your house your rules

I can’t believe the posters saying she just needs to use elbow grease! She’s not cleaning her own house, she’s cleaning several all day long! Why would you/ should she make her job harder than necessary?
There are many things bleach deals with quickly.
If you have such an issue with it look for a cleaner who’s happy to only use natural products.

Citric acid is good

Completely accept it’s up to her to refuse to use my products and ask for bleach. My question is has anyone used the ‘natural’ Bleach alternatives and were they less toxic, effective etc? This isn’t about me making the cleaner do something she doesn’t want to. She’s self employed and can leave whenever she wants. I’m just looking into a possible compromise.

Get yourself a ToucanEco (or one of the copycats - just make sure it does what it claims) and make up a batch of your own cleaner. It smells like a weak bleach due to the salt added and if you stick a label on the bottle saying bleach and tell her it’s a house-safe formula, you may get away with it!

And yes, it really works.

Pass an electric current through slightly salty water and you get a powerful disinfectant. Larger commercial units are used by places such as prisons around the world, places where you may not want to have bottles of bleach lying around in case the wrong person gets hold of it but you absolutely do need to get things clean.

The cleaner is temporary, if left for a week or so it reverts back to salty water, so you need to make up a batch regularly.

https://toucaneco.co.uk/household/

I have no issue with bleach for certain jobs, but clearly you do. If it's a hill you're both prepared to die on then so be it. You need a new cleaner and she needs a new job.

The only reason I don’t buy bleach is because unless you are VERY careful with it then well… things get bleached. Bath mats, towels, washing lying on the floor. Just a little drop accidentally spilt and an item is ruined and I am speaking from experience. The only person who uses bleach in my home is me because I’m the only one who is careful enough with it 🤬

Finally someone not taken in by the "oh I only use eco products man"...it's like the new cif ad which says it can clean yellow and round things....not a mention of actually killing germs. You know those little bugs that actually kill humans.
bleach also gets my white shirts white, not a dull yellow.

Even 100% natural still contains chemicals, because absolutely everything is composed entirely of chemicals. Nothing is chemical free, and 'natural' isn't always better.

Well it's not just natural cleaning products. Literally every.single.thing. is a chemical. H2O is one of my favourite chemicals... I voted YABU simply because of the phrase "high level of chemicals" - but it's one of my pet peeves.

white vinegar. For all of them.

Since when has bleach wrecked toilet pipes? I still have an original 40 year old bathroom in my house which gets bleached every week, pipes are completely fine. No plumber has ever told me not to use bleach.

Have you tried Cif cream cleaner lemon? It claims to be 100% natural cleaning particles derived from limestone. (Obviously you still need to follow the instructions to use it sensibly) It’s great on bathroom grout and tiles.

I got taken in by one of the FB ads for Smol - absolute crap! Back to the good old fashioned stuff!

Your house your rules but depends on which is more important to you - having her as a cleaner or the no bleach.

one compromise is if the eco products are fine but take longer for her to do the job either reduce what she has to get through in the time, or extend her time/pay her more.

If it’s making her job harder and she’s not willing to compromise then it’s really your call, you’re not being unreasonable asking her to not use bleach but she’s also not being unreasonable to walk away from the job if she’s that attached to it.

Unless you’ve got a really old toilet bowl with surface damage the bleach alone isn’t actually getting it as clean as you think.

Stains need something to stick to. Most of the time that’s limescale. Putting bleach down the loo removes the colour but not the stuff itself. Over time, if you stop using bleach, the stains will return and always in the same pattern/place. That’s because the limescale is still present.

Stop using the bleach for a bit and concentrate on getting rid of the limescale. That’s not easy, but once you’ve done it you can keep the bowl clear by throwing some citric acid or strong vinegar down there every week.

Whatever you do don’t mix bleach and acid cleaner together.

Smol washing liquid capsules were ok (we got some that were in a relative's cupboards after they passed away) but I wouldn't bother ordering more, and didn't try any cleaning liquids or anything.