Storing bleach outside; decomposition of bleach

[tmess13]

Hi gang.

Sorry if this has been covered. I couldn't find it anywhere...

I closed my pool for the winter. I have a few cases of bleach left over, and I would like to store them in my outdoor pool storage box. I live in western NY, where extreme cold winter temps are normal.

1) Does bleach expand when it freezes? In other words, is there a risk that the containers bursting if they get cold enough?

2) How quickly does bleach degrade? Should I try to return them to the store, or is it okay to keep them around till next season?

:confused:

Hoping to hear from someone who has experience with this, if possible. Thanks a bunch.

[chem geek]

Bleach and chlorinating liquid will last a lot longer at colder temperatures. See the table at the bottom of this page (http://www.odysseymanufacturing.com/about_product.htm) for a table of half-life vs. concentration and temperature. As for freezing, because of the salt and hypochlorite ions the freezing point for 12% chlorinating liquid is around 5ºF while for 6% bleach it is 19ºF so if you are expecting colder temperatures you should be concerned about the contents freezing and bursting the bottles. It won't expand until it freezes.