Question about bleach.

[Truckman]

I am buying the main name brand of bleach that eveyone knows. I want to
save some money and buy the discount store brand, Wal-Mart or K-mart.
Nowhere on these labels does it show the percent ingredients or even ingredients and I have looked carefully. I fear to use these for upsetting pool chemistry if contents are not same as the big name brand. My local grocery has its own brand but again, nothing on the label.

[Simmons99]

I think standard bleach is 5.25% and if it says "ultra bleach" it is 6%.

[aylad]

It's fine to use the discount store brand as long as it's plain with no added scents.

janet

[rferrel1]

Just an observation here. When I went to Sam's yesterday to buy bleach there was an open case of 3 bottles of Clorox "ultra" bleach - labels on the bottles said 6%. It was the only case labeled "ultra". I then looked at the labels on the bottles of Clorox regular bleach - same thing - 6%. If you go to their current website there is no mention of "ultra" - just new, improved with more whitening power. Because there was a big Internet "lye" going around when the ultra was introduced, I'm thinking they've removed the word "ultra" and all their regular bleach is now 6% - I couldn't find anything at their current website that specifically mentioned this to be a fact but there was no mention of ultra - you can "google" clorox ultra and get some hits but they mostly reference the "lies about the lye" and some older (2001) information about "ultra" from other websites. The following is their statement on what makes the new "regular" be an improved "whitening" formula -
---------------------------------------
How has Clorox® Bleach improved its whitening formula?
We have a new patented formula across the entire line of Clorox® Bleach products. The new formula incorporates an ingredient, sodium polyacrylate, that binds to certian minerals that are in the water supply preventing them from depositing on your clothes. You get all the power and performance of Clorox Liquid Bleach you are used to, but now clothes will retain their whiteness that might have been lost over time due to deposition of these minerals.

[ivyleager]

.
Nowhere on these labels does it show the percent ingredients or even ingredients and I have looked carefully.

I had trouble finding the percentage/ingredients on the large jug of WalMart bleach, too. It's immediately underneath the DANGER: CORROSIVE warning, states that it is 6% sodium hypo.

CaryB
Go 'Canes!!

[2dogpool]

When buying "discount" bleach, which I'm sure sits on the shelves longer than the "Big Name" brand, don't you risk buying bleach that has lost some potency? I thought this was an issue.

[waste]

2dog, (as this is my first encounter with you, I welcome you to the forum!), you are right about the bleach on the shelves, however the potentcy is mostly reduced by UV and heat. So if the bleach is not in clear (opaque) bottles it should be at about 'full' strength when you buy it (I'm assuming that the store doesn't crank the heat to 90 in the winter). If it's in the clear bottles ask if you can buy a case from their storeroom. In any event, if there's dust on the bottle- you might want to spend a few more cents at another store :) -Waste

[KurtV]

Here's a study report on sodium hypochlorite (bleach) shelf life: http://www.forp.usp.br/restauradora/soda/sodaingl.html

It degrades somewhat regardless of UV eposure and high temperature though both of those things certainly factor in.

I wouldn't worry at all about bleach degrading on the shelves of the big box stores, especially Wal-Mart. Nobody but nobody even comes close to rivaling Wal-Mart's inventory control system. Nothing sits on the shelf there very long; especially consumables like bleach.

[slater1182]

I bought my first 6 jugs at Target along w/ a box of 20 Mule. Let the fun begin.....1.26 per jug.(3 quarts)

[md_rider]

Just an FYI. I was at my local WalMart today. They had the 3qt jugs of 6% Ultra Bleach (store brand) on sale for 96 cents. That works out to be $1.28/gallon. Best price I've seen. BTW, I am in the Baltimore area.