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?

jet as it's only DH who drinks tea I don't worry too much - I do put cups & tea pot through the dishwasher after bleaching .......... there can't possibly be any trace of bleach left

I've never routinely used bleach.

I once in a blue moon use it on my kitchen worktops and cupboards, which are white (or supposed to be) when they look particularly dingy I will give them a quick scrub with bleach and they come up sparkling.

Only down the loo every few weeks and to clean our plastic sink. I have Eco friendly toilet cleaner but doesn't do the job as well IMO.

Will try biological washing powder for the sink!

I use it to remove stains from tea spills on the worktop - I'm too slovenly too clear them up before they mark.

Stains in cups are best removed with a teaspoonful of sodium bicarbonate, then top up with boiling water. After about an hour the grot wipes off - works for cutlery as well.

Loo gets a descaler as limescale is the main culprit here

I like the smell of bleach!

And if I were more house-proud no doubt I would smell it more often. I use it for loos, sinks, rest of bathroom and kitchen about every third or fourth clean.

Bleach is rubbish at killing germs down a toilet as the bacterial load is too great. Limescale remover is what you need.

@kittywalker - surely bleach kills germs down the toilet. what do you mean the bacterial load is too great? So what toilet cleaner do you use then?

@lucytails - not many things in life can survive bleach especially toilet germs. I also use bleach to clean the floors and down drains.

I use bleach loads - love the smell :)

People getting all horrified at the thought of cleaning cups etc with bleach - clearly you don't know they recommend putting a few drops of bleach in drinking water if you are going to store it

^use liquid household chlorine bleach that contains 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite. Do not use bleach with soaps or scents added. Add the bleach according to the table below, using a clean, uncontaminated medicine dropper. 4 drops bleach per quart or liter container of water
8 drops bleach per 2-quart, 2-liter, or ½ gallon container of water
16 drops bleach, or 1/4 teaspoon, per gallon or 4-liter container of water^

The Wonderstuff program explained that ALL limescale removing loo cleaners contain bleach - it's what kills the germs . Yes, they add other stuff; perfume and colour etc, but bleach is the main ingredient!

I prefer duck for my toilets, smells lovely. I do use it to clean plug holes if they start to smell and been using in new rented house on White kitchen floor, not that it seems to work very well.

I want to bleach my White bed set White again. How do I do this? I am thinking bung in washing machine capful or 2 of bleach then put on a wash. Then when its finished pop my detergent in and rewash?

Any ideas?

See as it's a kingsize set I dont have a bucket big enough. I also have small DC and just don't want to risk it at all!

Ah I see! Probably only confused me, sleep deprivation from a newborn has caused terrible baby brain!

@floydiedoydie - yeah i saw that programme too. It was quite interesting, well as interesting a toilet cleaning can be! I always kinda wondered how bleach actually kills the germs. It was also interesting how they said that bleach breaks down in the sewage system thus not causing an environmental nuisance as some people seem to believe.

diluted, cheap shower spray (I use the old spray container - tightwad!)

ooh do share how does bleach kill the germs then?

@lucytails - apparently its the chlorine inside the toilet cleaner that kills the germs. As someone else here said earlier it doesn't matter if its a fragranced loo cleaner like toilet duck or a general bleach like domestos, all toilet cleaners contain chlorine amongst other stuff. I think they said that the chlorine opens up the germs outer membrane basically allowing for their insides to seep out. They should how it works by popping open eggs with the eggshell removed with a pin. The useful thing i learned was that it takes a matter of seconds for the germs to be killed when in contact with bleach so no real need to leave all night, etc. Ever since i watched that progrmme i actually feel a little bit guilty now when using bleach. Sort of like i'm commiting mass genocide lol.

I always use bleach. Have neat stuff for really tough jobs and spray with 15% bleach for general use. The thing I like about bleach instead of general antibacterials is that viruses and bacteria simply can't become resistant to it - so can't become superbugs. Antibacterials will eventually stop working because of resistance.

Le Creuset recommends using bleach for destaining their enamelled pans. They gradually get discoloured and it works a treat. (If I'm making something with blackberries then there's no gradual about it - the bleach comes straight out!)

Kitchen bowl cleaning. Hate stained bowls. Ditto sink.
Chopping boards.
Worksurfaces (though also use Dettol spray here too).
Anywhere I think the cat has been that she oughtn't (see worksurfaces)
Cleaning the tiles in the conservatory if they start going green in the humidity.
Cleaning black mould off the bathroom ceiling (humidity again - yes we do have a dehumidifier)

Good job I had some when I tried to dye my wedding veil from dayglo white to cream. I misjudged the amount of turmeric I was using and ended up with a canary yellow veil . Bleach fixed it in a few minutes, I rinsed the veil then tried again with a tad less dye.

kitchen floor lino gets sprayed with the 15% stuff when I'm mopping and I know the small boy and the cat are out of the way until it's dried.

fruit stains off clothes.

It's amazing on Le Creuset!

I didn't think Stardrops was that good, I used to use it on my floors, but it didn't leave a nice smell.

Very interested to hear that bleach is eco friendly. Doesn't it fade your floors though?