Clorox 4.5% Sodium Hypochlorite (yields 4.275% available chlorine)

[rmcderm313]

Hi All,

To combat high CYA readings, or not make them worse more specifically, I'm switching to bleach as a sanitizer at least until my next fill.

The only clorox bleach I can find is "Clorox  4.5% Sodium Hypochlorite (yields 4.275% available chlorine)".  It's the plainest labelled Clorox I can find.  Is this OK to use?  There is no other ingredient information on the label, just that 'other ingredients' are 95.5%.

I can adjust the dosage in my Taylor handbook to get the right amount, but just want to make sure this isn't adding something else that will be harmful.

Thanks,

Rob

[Ryno]

Adding bleach is okay after you build up 20-30 CYA from adding Dichlor. You don't want to start a fresh fill with bleach without first adding a week or two of Dichlor to build up those levels appropriately. Additionally, I found that a specific product from Clorox to be the plainest in ingredients. It's Clorox 30966 and contains just the disinfectants needed without all the extra softeners, polyvinyls, fragrances or lauramines that other products the Clorox offers has. Here's the list of ingredients from this product on their website. Just keep in mind that bleach can adjust your pH so keep an eye on that every 2 weeks. I hope this helps!

https://www.thecloroxcompany.com/en-us/what-were-made-of/ingredients-inside/cloroxpro/clorox-commercial-solutions-clorox-germicidal-bleach1-concentrated-44600309668/

[Cusser]

Doesn't have to be Clorox, can use private label "store brand" bleach.

My employer made bleach, not much more than sodium hydroxide solution with chlorine gas bubbled in to make sodium hypochlorite.  Pool liquid shock is higher concentration but typically sold in packs of 2 or 4 gallons.

[rmcderm313]

Thanks to you both.  I hadn't thought of it before but due to crazy COVID shopping the bleach availability is way down in my area.  There is still bleach but finding the 'plain stuff' is difficult.  I did end up finding 6% which is good for now.  As it turns out the clorox product I mentioned above is 'low splash' and they do that by thickening the product which results in the 4.5% bleach.  There is actually a lawsuit against Clorox because the bleach % isn't high enough to work as a sanitizer.

[Cusser]

4.5% hypochlorite is plenty strong enough to sanitize; one must use different dilution instructions.  I wouldn't use the thickened bleach in a spa, one wants to avoid anything that could serve as a surface active agent (surfactant).

Wear safety goggles when adding liquid hypochlorite or liquid chlorine.

[rmcderm313]

I agree with you. I think it's interesting that Clorox chose to omit the % hypochlorite on the bottle for the splash-less formulation, and only added it back after the start of the class-action (apparently, because it's on the bottle I bought).  A class action suit over it seems pretty frivolous to me but to each their own..

https://www.law360.com/articles/1301771/clorox-sued-over-splash-less-bleach-that-doesn-t-disinfect

Thanks for the responses..

Rob