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Steve Henderson
 
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Default Bleach vs. Tilex

To clean the grout in my shower I can use Tilex - and it works... it's
just that the sprayers they use are ususlly poor, and I don't like
paying for Tilex when it smells like plain old bearch (which costs FAR
less). What's the difference between bleach and tilex, anyhow? Can I
just dilute beach and put it in the Tilex spray bottle for the same effect?
  #2   Report Post  
Bell
 
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Default

Steve Henderson wrote:
To clean the grout in my shower I can use Tilex - and it works... it's
just that the sprayers they use are ususlly poor, and I don't like
paying for Tilex when it smells like plain old bearch (which costs FAR
less). What's the difference between bleach and tilex, anyhow? Can I
just dilute beach and put it in the Tilex spray bottle for the same
effect?


Read on the label of each. IIRC, Tilex is just about the same strength as
normal bleach. Why would you want to dilute it?


  #3   Report Post  
Murray Peterson
 
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Default

Steve Henderson wrote in
:

To clean the grout in my shower I can use Tilex - and it works... it's
just that the sprayers they use are ususlly poor,


Why not just buy a good spray bottle and transfer the Tilex?

and I don't like
paying for Tilex when it smells like plain old bearch (which costs FAR
less).


I think your nose needs a tuneup. To me, they don't smell even remotely
close to each other.

What's the difference between bleach and tilex, anyhow?


Bleach: Sodium hypochlorite
Tilex: Tetrapotassium EDTA + 2-butoxyethanol + lauryldimethylamine oxide

Can I just dilute beach and put it in the Tilex spray bottle for the
same effect?


Not in my experience -- I have found Tilex to be much better than beach
(for soap scum).
  #4   Report Post  
Jim Yanik
 
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Default

Steve Henderson wrote in
:

To clean the grout in my shower I can use Tilex - and it works... it's
just that the sprayers they use are ususlly poor, and I don't like
paying for Tilex when it smells like plain old bearch (which costs FAR
less). What's the difference between bleach and tilex, anyhow? Can I
just dilute beach and put it in the Tilex spray bottle for the same
effect?


I put bleach in my empty Tilex sprayer,and the sprayer wears out;the spring
corrodes and the trigger does not return on it's own.
IMO,the bleach works better,and definitely cheaper.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik-at-kua.net
  #5   Report Post  
Bubba
 
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Default

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 08:39:29 -0500, "Bell"
wrote:

Steve Henderson wrote:
To clean the grout in my shower I can use Tilex - and it works... it's
just that the sprayers they use are ususlly poor, and I don't like
paying for Tilex when it smells like plain old bearch (which costs FAR
less). What's the difference between bleach and tilex, anyhow? Can I
just dilute beach and put it in the Tilex spray bottle for the same
effect?


Read on the label of each. IIRC, Tilex is just about the same strength as
normal bleach. Why would you want to dilute it?


Look everyone. Its BellBoy again. You still wanna "BiteMe"?
Bubba


  #6   Report Post  
William W. Plummer
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Steve Henderson wrote:
To clean the grout in my shower I can use Tilex - and it works... it's
just that the sprayers they use are ususlly poor, and I don't like
paying for Tilex when it smells like plain old bearch (which costs FAR
less). What's the difference between bleach and tilex, anyhow? Can I
just dilute beach and put it in the Tilex spray bottle for the same effect?

I have used the "Once a Day" shower spray for more than a year.
Actually, I only use it once or twice a week, but it works well. It is
not a bleach.
  #7   Report Post  
Martik
 
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Default

What's the difference between bleach and tilex, anyhow?

10-15 bucks


  #8   Report Post  
Greg
 
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Default

There are a couple kinds of Tilex. The shower spray is not the same as the
original cleaner which is nothing but bleach and scent.
I have never found a sprayer that puts up with bleach very long, even some
pretty expensive ones.
  #9   Report Post  
Dan
 
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Default

I've found this as well. Just remove the spray head & pump some water
through it to flush out the bleach before putting it away.

Dan

Jim Yanik wrote:
Steve Henderson wrote in
:


To clean the grout in my shower I can use Tilex - and it works... it's
just that the sprayers they use are ususlly poor, and I don't like
paying for Tilex when it smells like plain old bearch (which costs FAR
less). What's the difference between bleach and tilex, anyhow? Can I
just dilute beach and put it in the Tilex spray bottle for the same
effect?



I put bleach in my empty Tilex sprayer,and the sprayer wears out;the spring
corrodes and the trigger does not return on it's own.
IMO,the bleach works better,and definitely cheaper.

  #10   Report Post  
Martik
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Greg" wrote in message
...
There are a couple kinds of Tilex. The shower spray is not the same as the
original cleaner which is nothing but bleach and scent.
I have never found a sprayer that puts up with bleach very long, even some
pretty expensive ones.


You prepare a fresh solution and rinse out the sprayer after each use.




  #11   Report Post  
Phisherman
 
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Default

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 05:08:53 -0600, Steve Henderson
wrote:

To clean the grout in my shower I can use Tilex - and it works... it's
just that the sprayers they use are ususlly poor, and I don't like
paying for Tilex when it smells like plain old bearch (which costs FAR
less). What's the difference between bleach and tilex, anyhow? Can I
just dilute beach and put it in the Tilex spray bottle for the same effect?


If the Tilex spray bottles are poor, why would you want to put bleach
in them? Buy a good pair of chemical gloves, the long kind that go up
to the mid forearm, and use a bucket, bleach water and a rag. Rinse
with cool water.
  #12   Report Post  
Greg
 
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Default

If the Tilex spray bottles are poor, why would you want to put bleach
in them?


You buy a new bottle of Tylex, refill with bleach until it breaks ... repeat.
  #13   Report Post  
Gideon
 
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Default


Greg wrote in message ...
If the Tilex spray bottles are poor, why would you want to put bleach
in them?

You buy a new bottle of Tylex, refill with bleach until it breaks ... repeat.


========

Clorox® makes a number of disinfecting sprays which contain common
bleach (plus scent). Why not buy 1 container and when it is empty, refilling
with the most inexpensive bleach that you can purchase? We've done
this and the containers and spray mechanisms last an extremely long time.
You also now have your home-brewed mixture in an appopriately labeled
container, which is a big safety issue.

I recommend unscented bleach - you really don't want to fool you noise
when breathing the fumes.

As others have said, this is not for soap scum removal - just for the
disinfecting typically performed by bleach products.

Now if you are doing a very large disinfecting job such as killing mold on the
side of a building, then buy the appropriate sprayer for the end of a garden
hose (Clorox® makes this item also) and purchase "bleach" in bulk by getting
swimming pool "shock" treatment (Calcium Hypochlorite). Just mix the
hypochlorite with water to a ratio which is approximately equal to the ratio
for the product that you are duplicating.

Obviously, you must observe appropriate bleach safety. If you are ignoring
the nasty smell of the fumes, then you are probably damaging your nasal
passages and your lungs. Also, remember that after it dries, bleach is
still bleach. When the dried bleach get moistened again, then it "reactivates"
and behaves as bleach once again - burning skin, changing the colors of
fabrics, etc. Finally, be extremely careful to avoid using other cleaning
products in conjuction with bleach solutions. Careless mixing can produce
gases such as chlorine, chloramine and phosgene.


  #14   Report Post  
meirman
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In alt.home.repair on Mon, 20 Dec 2004 03:11:29 GMT "Gideon"
posted:


Greg wrote in message ...
If the Tilex spray bottles are poor, why would you want to put bleach
in them?

You buy a new bottle of Tylex, refill with bleach until it breaks ... repeat.


========

Clorox® makes a number of disinfecting sprays which contain common
bleach (plus scent). Why not buy 1 container and when it is empty, refilling
with the most inexpensive bleach that you can purchase? We've done
this and the containers and spray mechanisms last an extremely long time.
You also now have your home-brewed mixture in an appopriately labeled
container, which is a big safety issue.


I agree with you.

When I lived near a college, a girl came down to see me one day and
said she had swallowed bleach and could I help her.

I looked in both of my poison booklets and neither mentioned bleach.
I called the poison control hotline and her book didn't mention bleach
either. She had to ask the doctor about it. He said there was no
problem**. But years later a chemist friend Xeroxed a page that went
over the dangers of drinking bleach. (I guess the difference was that
the girl in my building drank very little.)

One of her roommates had put bleach in a milk carton (possibly an
opaque milk carton). Another came home and found it on the kitchen
table and put it in the refrigerator. The third came home, took it
out of the refrigerator, and drank some, thinking it was milk. (Skim
milk isn't very white. It's more like white and clear. Maybe that
helped to confuse her.)

I mark my sprayers "Poison" when they contain poison, even though I
live alone. (Although I didn't mark the sprayer that contained 409,
and now I don't know which it is!)

I recommend unscented bleach - you really don't want to fool you noise
when breathing the fumes.


Good point.


BTW, I left a zip-lock bag with a leaking Epson color printer Blue
cartridge in it on the floor of my bathroom.

Now some of the grout is blue.

Should I use a cleaner first?
bleach first?

Will they just spread the stain and make it go deeper?

Should I use a screwdriver to scrape away the top half millimeter of
grout first?

Any advice?

As others have said, this is not for soap scum removal - just for the
disinfecting typically performed by bleach products.

Now if you are doing a very large disinfecting job such as killing mold on the
side of a building, then buy the appropriate sprayer for the end of a garden
hose (Clorox® makes this item also) and purchase "bleach" in bulk by getting
swimming pool "shock" treatment (Calcium Hypochlorite). Just mix the
hypochlorite with water to a ratio which is approximately equal to the ratio
for the product that you are duplicating.


BTW, I've mentioned this before I think, but some brands of bleach
these days contain Sodium Hyposulfite, not Hypochorite. I have a
guess why but I'm not sure. I don't know the difference in
effectiveness, but to kill the moss on my fence, I went to the trouble
to find hypochlorite. Where I put on enough, it did a good job.

Obviously, you must observe appropriate bleach safety. If you are ignoring
the nasty smell of the fumes, then you are probably damaging your nasal
passages and your lungs. Also, remember that after it dries, bleach is
still bleach. When the dried bleach get moistened again, then it "reactivates"
and behaves as bleach once again - burning skin, changing the colors of
fabrics, etc. Finally, be extremely careful to avoid using other cleaning
products in conjuction with bleach solutions. Careless mixing can produce
gases such as chlorine, chloramine and phosgene.


Shades of WWI. Do any of you remember Sen. Everett Dirkson? The
reason he talked so funny is that he was gassed in WWI.


Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.
  #15   Report Post  
William W. Plummer
 
Posts: n/a
Default

snip

Should I use a screwdriver to scrape away the top half millimeter of
grout first?

A grout saw will be easier to use and will do a better job.

Shades of WWI. Do any of you remember Sen. Everett Dirkson? The
reason he talked so funny is that he was gassed in WWI.

But that was mustard gas, not bleach fumes.


  #16   Report Post  
Gideon
 
Posts: n/a
Default

1) The stories of accidents from using the "wrong" container for a
dangerous chemical are numerous. From my own experiences,
we had a neighbor who couldn't swallow pieces of food much larger
than a pea because when she was a child she drank a lye solution
that was stored in a pop bottle.
Personally, as a high school student I stored battery acid in a rubbing
alcohol container in the basement. My father ran out of the rubbing
alcohol that he splashed on his face after shaving and he went to the
basement and found my bottle. Fortunately, this didn't cause any
permanent problems but it certainly woke him up. He vented a
tremendous amount of anger in my direction.

2) Regarding you grout which is now stained blue: I would suggest
experimenting with some bleach, which is a better starting point than
scraping with a screwdriver. Follow the standard advice to experiment
first with just a drop or two of bleach on one part of the stain to see
what color you will get after the bleach has oxidized the stain. You
can get a variety of colors ranging from white to yellow to orange
depending upon the particular chemicals which are being bleached.
You may also experiment with a mild water-based abrasive such as
Soft Scrub®. Some versions of these products have a bit of bleach
already in them, but you may want to boost it by using the Soft Scrub®
in conjunction with regular bleach.
If that doesn't work, I'd suggest using fine sandpaper rather than a
screwdriver to remove some of the grout.


Good luck.

======================

meirman wrote in message ...
In alt.home.repair on Mon, 20 Dec 2004 03:11:29 GMT "Gideon"
posted:


Greg wrote in message ...
If the Tilex spray bottles are poor, why would you want to put bleach
in them?

You buy a new bottle of Tylex, refill with bleach until it breaks ... repeat.


========

Clorox® makes a number of disinfecting sprays which contain common
bleach (plus scent). Why not buy 1 container and when it is empty, refilling
with the most inexpensive bleach that you can purchase? We've done
this and the containers and spray mechanisms last an extremely long time.
You also now have your home-brewed mixture in an appopriately labeled
container, which is a big safety issue.


I agree with you.

When I lived near a college, a girl came down to see me one day and
said she had swallowed bleach and could I help her.

I looked in both of my poison booklets and neither mentioned bleach.
I called the poison control hotline and her book didn't mention bleach
either. She had to ask the doctor about it. He said there was no
problem**. But years later a chemist friend Xeroxed a page that went
over the dangers of drinking bleach. (I guess the difference was that
the girl in my building drank very little.)

One of her roommates had put bleach in a milk carton (possibly an
opaque milk carton). Another came home and found it on the kitchen
table and put it in the refrigerator. The third came home, took it
out of the refrigerator, and drank some, thinking it was milk. (Skim
milk isn't very white. It's more like white and clear. Maybe that
helped to confuse her.)

I mark my sprayers "Poison" when they contain poison, even though I
live alone. (Although I didn't mark the sprayer that contained 409,
and now I don't know which it is!)

I recommend unscented bleach - you really don't want to fool you noise
when breathing the fumes.


Good point.


BTW, I left a zip-lock bag with a leaking Epson color printer Blue
cartridge in it on the floor of my bathroom.

Now some of the grout is blue.

Should I use a cleaner first?
bleach first?

Will they just spread the stain and make it go deeper?

Should I use a screwdriver to scrape away the top half millimeter of
grout first?

Any advice?

As others have said, this is not for soap scum removal - just for the
disinfecting typically performed by bleach products.

Now if you are doing a very large disinfecting job such as killing mold on the
side of a building, then buy the appropriate sprayer for the end of a garden
hose (Clorox® makes this item also) and purchase "bleach" in bulk by getting
swimming pool "shock" treatment (Calcium Hypochlorite). Just mix the
hypochlorite with water to a ratio which is approximately equal to the ratio
for the product that you are duplicating.


BTW, I've mentioned this before I think, but some brands of bleach
these days contain Sodium Hyposulfite, not Hypochorite. I have a
guess why but I'm not sure. I don't know the difference in
effectiveness, but to kill the moss on my fence, I went to the trouble
to find hypochlorite. Where I put on enough, it did a good job.

Obviously, you must observe appropriate bleach safety. If you are ignoring
the nasty smell of the fumes, then you are probably damaging your nasal
passages and your lungs. Also, remember that after it dries, bleach is
still bleach. When the dried bleach get moistened again, then it

"reactivates"
and behaves as bleach once again - burning skin, changing the colors of
fabrics, etc. Finally, be extremely careful to avoid using other cleaning
products in conjuction with bleach solutions. Careless mixing can produce
gases such as chlorine, chloramine and phosgene.


Shades of WWI. Do any of you remember Sen. Everett Dirkson? The
reason he talked so funny is that he was gassed in WWI.


Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.






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