DH is an idiot, he thinks only bleach kills germs, house smells like a ...

[OneLieIn]

swimming pool. We are trying to sell our house (yes, i know at the worst time ever recorded). DH thinks only bleach kills germs and has washed everything with bleach, kitchen sides, table, chairs, floor - it smells like a really nasty swimming pool.

I told him (in my wisdom) that he could use something else. "No" the smart answer was "only bleach kills germs"

I told him he was wrong and if only bleach killed germs, does that mean that every dish you ever wash in fairy liquid is still covered in germs? He is ADAMANT (and wrong).

So am hoping on MN there is a smart professor that can tell me the difference between what germs bleach kills versus say fairy liquid.

(Also his hands are like sandpaper as a result, so they are not sanding my skin today until he realises he is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG).

This dousing everything in bleach seems such a British thing to me. In Sweden where I grew up, people still seem to use hot water and work on removing the dirt rather than smothering it in chemicals. And they are positively suspicious of anti-bacterials; apparently, the health advice there is that overuse of those on a daily basis is really bad for you. I don't think they suffer more illness or food poisoning than we do.

In order for bleach to be effective whatever you are cleaning needs to be clean first otherwise the bacterial load is too much (and for your DH's info I am an Infection Control Nurse)

So you actually achieve more effective cleaning by using soap and water as you have already said.

OOh there was an experiment showing what killed bacteria in Nina and the Neurons last week. She got 3 people to dip their hands in hundreds and thousands (the bacteria) and then let one try and get them off using nothing, the other to wash in water and one soap and water. The soap and water washed it all off so to conclude soap and water washes off bacteria.

If I smelt strong bleach throughout a house, I would assume there was a dead body somewhere in the not so distant past.

MrsSchadenfreud, I am a Scorpio but very lax on the cleaning front.

That's so true Ledogy, most antibacterials become inert when they come in contact with organic material ie dirt!!! Alcohol gel is one! You must clean first!

(I love Nina and the Neurons, did you know if you hold your nose when you eat something you can barely taste it )

hot soapy water kills 99.9% of germs

Actually that's not true, soap doesn't kill gersm it removes them, it is a surfactant which means it makes washing the germs away easier than just water alone.

If there gone no need to worry