Bleach use

[Richard Ivy 14]

I think I'm getting my head around the use of bleach...

I bought some bleach the other day - it comes in a 5l container - that's about a gallon to you.

Do you simply drop your downstreamer pipe, (for x-jet/whatever) into the container and fire away at the gutter or whatever your looking at getting clean?

You don't dilute at all?

I sprayed 50% bleach 50% water from a hand sprayer at a faded fence yesterday and it has brough the old colour out of it.

[Larry B 55]

Part of how you use it will depend on the strength of the bleach and what you are trying to clean. Store bought is 5-6%. If you use a downstreamer at the pump it will dilute to araound 25:1 depending on your injector. An x-jet can giv you as much as 2:1 flow rate. With a pump up (unmixed)you are getting a true 5%-6% percent on the surface and you will get faster results. Not all surfaces require it to be at the highest strength, like your fence.

If you put 1/8 of a cup of dish soap in with your mix it will foam a little and stick better as well.

[Richard Ivy 14]

Larry, would you just spray this mix up into the areas you want it and leave for a set time?

Should I be concerned about the window glass/plants/my breathing?

Thank you.

(Hope to be running with this kit within a week, and end the speculation!)

[Mike Williamson 198]

Larry, would you just spray this mix up into the areas you want it and leave for a set time?

Most us us spray down the side of a house, and by the time we're done spraying, it is time to start rinsing where we started. Depends on your application method. If you're using a pumpup sprayer, you'd want to do much smaller areas at a time. You don't want it to dry, and you certainly don't want it to dry on glass.

Yes, it will kill plants, so keep them wet and rinsed. As far as breathing, you don't want to breathe any misted chlorine, but should be ok with the fumes for short periods of time...some wear a respirator whenever they use chlorine.

As far as downstreamers go, 25:1 is a VERY low ratio. I get around 4 or 5:1 with mine.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

In addition to what others have posted, bleach is an ingredient in a solution of other ingredients. It can be mixed with detergents, rinse aids and degreasers to create a formula for a specific purpose. I would also add that it is not recommended as a stand alone mixed with water. The reason is that bleach can leave a residue behind which can dull finishes and be reactivated by rainfall. Without a surfactant (an agent which creates surface activity) it is left to act by its nature as an oxidizer (react with oxygen) and mildewcide. [*Hazard note* when experimenting with different mixes, avoid mixing bleach in any form with an acid. This mixture creates Chlorine gas which is toxic and if it is done in a sealable container; will result in an explosion]

The drawback to leaving an oxidizer's residue behind is that it can continue its action unchecked after you have left resulting in the scenarios others have mentioned in the thread. This is a liability for you the contractor. A surfactant helps to limit anything applied being left behind. A rinse aid helps to get everything off faster by making the solution cohesive (sticks to itself) and avoids adhesion (sticking to others) to the surface being applied.

Finding a detergent or butyl based cleaner that works on the pollutants most commonly found on exterior home surfaces in your area is a first step. Combining it with bleach to kill mildew/algae on the surface is next and based upon the causticity of the cleaner you are using. Less caustic, more bleach concentration. More caustic, less bleach concentration. The mix is supposed to work in concert to attain the results you are looking for. The last but not least important ingredient is heat. Hot water can make your solutions work better at lower concentrations, the results faster and the rinse more complete in less time. This enables you to work in colder conditions extending your work season as well.

Did I miss anything??? Next!

Rod!~

[Richard Ivy 14]

Rod - I don;t think you missed thing mate! Cheers - Maybe we're so used to going into a shop/store and buying stuff off the shelf that these mixes of surfactants and bleaches and heaven knows wht else are kind of daunting.

I would have gone ahead and sprayed bleach and nothing else. Now I need to know what as surfatcant is! Don't worry, I will search elsewhere for that - thank you for all you have said.

Richard.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

A surfactant is an ingredient found in most cleaners that creates surface activity so that the cleaner will work longer and more productively. The surfactant perse' is proprietary for the most part in the majority of formulations. It may be very difficult to find outright but you can be certain it is in there...like ragu!

Rod!~

[Jim Carroll 14]

Rod you may need to tell him what Ragu is. No harm meant Richard. It is a spaghetti sauce sold here in the states.

[Richard Ivy 14]

It's ok, and thanks for the consideration - 'Ragu' was a product sold here in the 90s, but I haven't seen it for a long time.

I get the point though!

[racechaser 64]

The dish soap Larry told you to add would be your surfactant. Most surfactants are basically non or low foaming soaps.

Scott