OT-Chlorine bleach

[MyZoeJane]

Okay, didn't read ANY responses, but reading this made me livid enough to want to say that I hope you got him in trouble!

Holy crap, chlorine bleach ON THE SIDEWALK!?!?! I can't believe there are people out there who don't care enough to learn the dangers of chlorine bleach (or any product) on the environment? Seriously, the fact that any old person can even BUY bleach makes me crazy. It's SO BAD.

Perhaps you should buy a box of Borax and leave it on the guy's doorstep to show him there are much safer alternatives?

 

[mamacatnv]

I think you overreacted and that your DH should apologize to the neighbor.

 

[TxRabbit]

I just have to add to this thread...because I recently read this information and y'all might find it interesting.

Understand that bleach is not necessarily chlorine. As one of the first posters to this thread stated, bleach, the famous Clorox brand, is sodium hypochlorite, in a 6% solution. It breaks down into water and salt.

It is recommended by the US military that all oversees personnel use Clorox in a solution of 1 teaspoon to 1 gallon water to clean all produce. Then eat the produce!

It is also recommended to clean eggs, getting their shells nice and clean and reducing the risk of salmonella (spelling?).

The same clorox dilution can be used right here in the good ole USA, especially if you aren't purchasing organically grown produce. At least you can clean the surfaces as much as possible.

Believe it or not....it's true!

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Okay, didn't read ANY responses, but reading this made me livid enough to want to say that I hope you got him in trouble!

Holy crap, chlorine bleach ON THE SIDEWALK!?!?! I can't believe there are people out there who don't care enough to learn the dangers of chlorine bleach (or any product) on the environment? Seriously, the fact that any old person can even BUY bleach makes me crazy. It's SO BAD.

Perhaps you should buy a box of Borax and leave it on the guy's doorstep to show him there are much safer alternatives?

Ok, I think you need to go back and read some of the responses or maybe even visit the Clorox website. Bleach is completly safe for the environment and is used everyday for things like keeping pools sparkling clean to disifecting toys(that kids mouth) at daycare centers. It can also be used to purify water after natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Borax it a great cleaner(I use it in my laundry all the time), but it is only a cleaner/deoderizor, it doesn't kill bacteria, virus, mold or mildew, bleach kills all of those.

 

[MyZoeJane]

Ok, I think you need to go back and read some of the responses or maybe even visit the Clorox website. Bleach is completly safe for the environment and is used everyday for things like keeping pools sparkling clean to disifecting toys(that kids mouth) at daycare centers. It can also be used to purify water after natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Borax it a great cleaner(I use it in my laundry all the time), but it is only a cleaner/deoderizor, it doesn't kill bacteria, virus, mold or mildew, bleach kills all of those.

Well, as long as you're telling me what you think I should do, I'll do the same:

I think you need to do a bit more research about the REAL effects that chlorine bleach has on the environment. The concerns about chlorine bleach are not fully realized by simply justifying the uses that it has. The environmental impact of bleach is very real. Unfortuntely, when it's used, it does NOT just "evaporate into salt and water" or whatever nonsense a previous poster mentioned.

Chlorine bleach contains CHLORINE which reacts with organic matter in drinking water to produce trihalomethanes, which may cause cancer and possibly developmental effects. So, when this nimrod throws it on the sidewalk, he is affecting a hellovalot more than just the people who are "offended by the smell." I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that I don't need to explain how what you throw onto the ground affects your drinking water.

Sure, they throw it in pool, but a recent study links children's exposure to one byproduct, nitrogen trichloride, in chlorinated indoor pools to asthma. Doesn't sound safe to me! It's already been argued that it's bad for people to breathe... though it's worse for some than for others.

Chlorine bleaching of paper and the manufacture and incineration of PVC plastic results in the formation of highly toxic dioxins and furans which pollute the environment in more ways than you can imagine. You wont convince me that Chlorine Bleach is safe. It might not really hurt me directly if I used it to clean my toilet, but I prefer not to live thinking only of myself. The world I live in is the world my future grandchildren will inherit. Why would I even consider turning a blind eye to the facts?

There are plenty of safe anti-bacterial alternatives to bleach.

 

[MyZoeJane]

or maybe even visit the Clorox website.

Oh, yes... the manufacturer's website is exactly the right place to go to get all of the unbiased information I would need to make an intelligent and informed decision about their product.

 

[famofsix]

folks get a grip.

this is not a life threatening situation

 

[TxRabbit]

Again...there is no chlorine in Clorox.

 

[MyZoeJane]

Again...there is no chlorine in Clorox.

Assuming that "Chlorox" is "Chlorine Bleach", how on EARTH are you coming to this conclusion?!?!?!

"Chlorine is chlorine, so the chlorine in bleach is the same as the chlorine in drinking water and in a swimming pool."

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question189.htm


"Household bleach, used to whiten fabrics or remove mold from surfaces, is a 5% solution of a stabilized form of chlorine."

http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/eh/chemfs/fs/chlorine.htm


Are you incorrectly assuming that because the Chlorine in bleach is "stabilized", that it is then rendered completely inert? WRONG! Read again to see that THE REAL DANGER of chlorine bleach stems from the result of it reacting with other organic matter!

 

[SpoonfulofSugar]

Is it just me or does anyone else suddenly have the urge clean .

 

[luvsJack]

FYI, most health departments REQUIRE that daycares, preschool, schools and restaurants clean with bleach water. Its not an option, they can't find something else--It MUST be bleach water. At one time I could spout off the bleach to water ratio but don't remember it now. It was different for different areas of child care centers.

Everything in our center was cleaned everyday with a bleach solution. We had children with asthma and allergies, but not once in 12 years were we ever told by a parent that the bleach was causing a problem for their child.

OP, you cannot control everything your neighbors do. He was not doing anything to harm your child. Let it go.


Oh and the bleach evaporating into salt and water is true. Our spray bottles of bleach water had to be changed out everyday because the bleach would evaporate and would not be useful in killing germs. Every so often we would come across a spray bottle that had been misplaced, when we would take the top off you could see the salt particles around the top of the bottle.

 

[TxRabbit]

Chlorine = Cl
Sodium Hypoclorite (Clorox/Purex) = NaOCl

The chemistry is different. Simple as that.

You can't say that oxygen is oxygen.

oxygen = O2
carbon dioxide = CO2

Chemistry.

I do not disagree with you over the potential environmental dangers of chlorine. I do disagree with you about the chemical composition of Clorox.

Edit: Just like oxygen and carbon dioxide both have oxygen in their chemical formulas, they are very different. So, just like chlorine and Clorox both have chlorine in their chemical formulas, they are very different. Which is what I was trying to say when I said there is no chlorine in Clorox. Clorox has a degradation pathway that does not result in chlorine plus something else, it results in salt and water. And that's what I meant when I said there is no chlorine in Clorox.

 

[Mom2Nick]

Oh, yes... the manufacturer's website is exactly the right place to go to get all of the unbiased information I would need to make an intelligent and informed decision about their product.

http://www.thecloroxcompany.com/products/msds/bleach/cloroxregularbleach0505_.pdf Right there - goverment mandated MSDS sheet on their website.

He was not dousing somebody's child with bleach. He was using it - OUTSIDE - to clean. OHHHH the horrors.

 

[mlynn]

FYI, most health departments REQUIRE that daycares, preschool, schools and restaurants clean with bleach water. Its not an option, they can't find something else--It MUST be bleach water. At one time I could spout off the bleach to water ratio but don't remember it now. It was different for different areas of child care centers.

Everything in our center was cleaned everyday with a bleach solution. We had children with asthma and allergies, but not once in 12 years were we ever told by a parent that the bleach was causing a problem for their child.

OP, you cannot control everything your neighbors do. He was not doing anything to harm your child. Let it go.


Oh and the bleach evaporating into salt and water is true. Our spray bottles of bleach water had to be changed out everyday because the bleach would evaporate and would not be useful in killing germs. Every so often we would come across a spray bottle that had been misplaced, when we would take the top off you could see the salt particles around the top of the bottle.[/QUOTE

I worked in a preschool here in NJ that was for children with and with out disablities. We had to have a spray bottle of bleach and water. After EVERYT diaper change we had to wipe the changing pad down(enven with a throw awway cover over it) after each child and everything including the hard floor had to be washed with bleach and water ev ery day. As long as it is the right mix there isn't any harm in bleach.

Now the only thing with the guy using it on his side walk. Would be to put a sign up saying it is bleach so people didn't splash through and ruin there clothing.

 

[princessmom29]

Well, as long as you're telling me what you think I should do, I'll do the same:

I think you need to do a bit more research about the REAL effects that chlorine bleach has on the environment. The concerns about chlorine bleach are not fully realized by simply justifying the uses that it has. The environmental impact of bleach is very real. Unfortuntely, when it's used, it does NOT just "evaporate into salt and water" or whatever nonsense a previous poster mentioned.

Chlorine bleach contains CHLORINE which reacts with organic matter in drinking water to produce trihalomethanes, which may cause cancer and possibly developmental effects. So, when this nimrod throws it on the sidewalk, he is affecting a hellovalot more than just the people who are "offended by the smell." I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that I don't need to explain how what you throw onto the ground affects your drinking water.

Sure, they throw it in pool, but a recent study links children's exposure to one byproduct, nitrogen trichloride, in chlorinated indoor pools to asthma. Doesn't sound safe to me! It's already been argued that it's bad for people to breathe... though it's worse for some than for others.

Chlorine bleaching of paper and the manufacture and incineration of PVC plastic results in the formation of highly toxic dioxins and furans which pollute the environment in more ways than you can imagine. You wont convince me that Chlorine Bleach is safe. It might not really hurt me directly if I used it to clean my toilet, but I prefer not to live thinking only of myself. The world I live in is the world my future grandchildren will inherit. Why would I even consider turning a blind eye to the facts?

There are plenty of safe anti-bacterial alternatives to bleach.

The byproducts you mention are produced in TINY amounts and continue to decompose into harmless byproducts in a very short timeframe. The nitrogen trichloride that can be linked to athsma only occurs in harmful levels in grossly overchlorinated pools. Bleach is NOT the primary reason for dioxin formation. It is the other chemicals in paper making that contribute the harmful byproducts NOT the bleach. None of these harmful byproducts are produced it any type of quantity that could be potentally harmful from normal household use. The trihalomethanes come from hydrochloric acid produced when water is exposed to chlorine GAS NOT the fixed cholrine in products like bleach, and organic matter like rotting food or feces are also necessary for this to occur. The fixed chlorine in bleach is chemicall almost identical to the chlorine in table salt. So should I never put salt water down the drain??And the whold MIGHT cause cancer thing has NOT been supported by ANY real scientifc research, only by so called research projects that use shoddy science to support radical envrionmental lobbists.

 

[famofsix]

did the OP disappear

 

[princessmom29]

Assuming that "Chlorox" is "Chlorine Bleach", how on EARTH are you coming to this conclusion?!?!?!

"Chlorine is chlorine, so the chlorine in bleach is the same as the chlorine in drinking water and in a swimming pool."

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question189.htm


"Household bleach, used to whiten fabrics or remove mold from surfaces, is a 5% solution of a stabilized form of chlorine."

http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/eh/chemfs/fs/chlorine.htm


Are you incorrectly assuming that because the Chlorine in bleach is "stabilized", that it is then rendered completely inert? WRONG! Read again to see that THE REAL DANGER of chlorine bleach stems from the result of it reacting with other organic matter!

All chlorine is not the same. How it is combined with other elements effects how it reacts chemically. the key word here is STABILIZED. The chlorine in bleach, table salt and many other compounds is stabilized and will NOT react adversely with organic matter. That required unstabilized chlorine such as chlorine gas or hydrochloric acid. The chemistry is simply different. Only a small part of the fact sheet tou quoted is actually referring to stabalized chlorine. The standards listed for exposure are for exposure as a gas which is unstabalized, and for unstabalized forms in water. You are misinterpereting what you are reading. the danger talked about here is the danger form unstabilized chlorine, not the stabilized form in salt and bleach. The first link you posted makes my point pretty suucintly. If you are worried about chlorine in drinking water all you have to do is let it sit for a while and the chlorine is eliminated. Stabilized chlorine always goes back to salt water!!!

 

[cheshireqt]

did the OP disappear

If it was me I would have disappeared too!
Seriously though, lets get back to the INTENT. OP, if you are still out there, I am sure that your neighbor's INTENT was to clean dog doo or something else nasty from the sidewalk. I am sure he thought he was doing something good for the neighborhood. Calmly telling him that the smell bothers you probably would have satisfied him and then YOU could clean the sidewalk next time something nasty got on it. You know, something that if you stepped in it and then walked into your house you would leave trace amounts of on the carpet your baby crawls on. I really don't mean to be mean but I think you overreacted. JMHO.

 

[finallygoingtoWDW]

Calmly telling him that the smell bothers you probably would have satisfied him

I agree. OP, it's your right to not use bleach in your house. And unless you gave your neighbor a memo asking him not to use it either, you completely over-reacted. First, that didn't hurt your daughter. But if you're really convinced it did then a simple "please let us know next time you use bleach outside so we can leave" would have sufficed. You are in no position to thrust your parenting views onto someone else.

It's best you learn this now, but not everyone will cater to your child. Nor should they. Your child is special to you and no one else, save for a few relatives.

 

[tlens]

Please read my words. I said it is a poison to my body. Not that it is a poison.

When I'm in an allergic mode, my body reacts as though flowers are a poison...and bleach ALWAYS acts as a poison to my body.

I honestly don't know how you get through the day. You have a story about everything almost killing you.