I've been looking around for information about the decomposition of
bleach sprayed (from a "plant misting" bottle) on tiles & grout, in
order to find out whether, after it dries, I still need to rinse it
off before anyone uses the shower or bath & to avoid damaging clothes,
washcloths, &c. (I'm a bit cautious with bleach after having ruined
some favourite items of clothing while splashing it around on mildew.)

I've found a lot of chemical theory on the WWW about how sodium
hypochlorite decomposes, but not much practical household information,
although apparently it isn't as effective at removing blood from a
crime scene as you might thinkÂ*[2].

Another SD forum thread [3] mostly seems to go along with the idea
that bleach becomes harmless when it dries.

Any expertise here on this?




[1] e.g.,
http://www.powellfab.com/technical_information/files/810.pdf

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15966054
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-478493.html

[3] http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=654341

On Thursday, 15 December 2016 14:15:05 UTC, Adam Funk wrote:
I've been looking around for information about the decomposition of
bleach sprayed (from a "plant misting" bottle) on tiles & grout, in
order to find out whether, after it dries, I still need to rinse it
off before anyone uses the shower or bath & to avoid damaging clothes,
washcloths, &c. (I'm a bit cautious with bleach after having ruined
some favourite items of clothing while splashing it around on mildew.)

I've found a lot of chemical theory on the WWW about how sodium
hypochlorite decomposes, but not much practical household information,
although apparently it isn't as effective at removing blood from a
crime scene as you might thinkÂ*[2].

Another SD forum thread [3] mostly seems to go along with the idea
that bleach becomes harmless when it dries.

Any expertise here on this?


The solid will be left behind as dry residue which once wet again will be bleach, so it will need washing down with clean water.

On 15/12/16 17:05, Simon Mason wrote:
On Thursday, 15 December 2016 14:15:05 UTC, Adam Funk wrote:
I've been looking around for information about the decomposition of
bleach sprayed (from a "plant misting" bottle) on tiles & grout, in
order to find out whether, after it dries, I still need to rinse it
off before anyone uses the shower or bath & to avoid damaging clothes,
washcloths, &c. (I'm a bit cautious with bleach after having ruined
some favourite items of clothing while splashing it around on mildew.)

I've found a lot of chemical theory on the WWW about how sodium
hypochlorite decomposes, but not much practical household information,
although apparently it isn't as effective at removing blood from a
crime scene as you might think [2].

Another SD forum thread [3] mostly seems to go along with the idea
that bleach becomes harmless when it dries.

Any expertise here on this?


The solid will be left behind as dry residue which once wet again will be bleach, so it will need washing down with clean water.

Well not for long. What's left will in general be salt and sodium
chlorate. A weedkiller and explosive.

On Thursday, 15 December 2016 14:15:05 UTC, Adam Funk wrote:
I've been looking around for information about the decomposition of
bleach sprayed (from a "plant misting" bottle) on tiles & grout, in
order to find out whether, after it dries, I still need to rinse it
off before anyone uses the shower or bath & to avoid damaging clothes,
washcloths, &c. (I'm a bit cautious with bleach after having ruined
some favourite items of clothing while splashing it around on mildew.)

I've found a lot of chemical theory on the WWW about how sodium
hypochlorite decomposes, but not much practical household information,
although apparently it isn't as effective at removing blood from a
crime scene as you might thinkÂ*[2].

Another SD forum thread [3] mostly seems to go along with the idea
that bleach becomes harmless when it dries.

Any expertise here on this?


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium...e#Disinfection

On Thu, 15 Dec 2016 14:06:58 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

Another SD forum thread [3] mostly seems to go along with the idea
that bleach becomes harmless when it dries.

Any expertise here on this?

Oxygen and sodium chloride (or potassium chloride).

Or:http://www.powellfab.com/technical_information/sodium_hypochlorite/decomposition_reason.aspx

What factors influence the decomposition rate of sodium hypochlorite (bleach)?
Sodium hypochlorite decomposition rate is dependent on the total ionic strength of the product, temperature of the solution, pH, and heavy metal content of the solution.
The primary pathway is 3NaOCl = 2NaCl + NaClO3
The minor pathway is 2NaOCl = 2NaCl + O2

It'll not bleach stuff, but it will leave a thin powdery white residue...


Thomas Prufer

On 15/12/2016 15:11, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 15/12/16 17:05, Simon Mason wrote:
On Thursday, 15 December 2016 14:15:05 UTC, Adam Funk wrote:
I've been looking around for information about the decomposition of
bleach sprayed (from a "plant misting" bottle) on tiles & grout, in
order to find out whether, after it dries, I still need to rinse it
off before anyone uses the shower or bath & to avoid damaging clothes,

You wear clothes in the shower?

washcloths, &c. (I'm a bit cautious with bleach after having ruined
some favourite items of clothing while splashing it around on mildew.)

I've found a lot of chemical theory on the WWW about how sodium
hypochlorite decomposes, but not much practical household information,
although apparently it isn't as effective at removing blood from a
crime scene as you might think [2].

Another SD forum thread [3] mostly seems to go along with the idea
that bleach becomes harmless when it dries.

Any expertise here on this?


The solid will be left behind as dry residue which once wet again will
be bleach, so it will need washing down with clean water.

Well not for long. What's left will in general be salt and sodium
chlorate. A weedkiller and explosive.

Though cut with salt to that extent it isn't much of one. But it will
still damage and bleach some sensitive organic dyes even as chlorate.

I'd expect in the shower would be no problem since the diluting effect
of that much water will wash it away pretty quickly.

TBH I'd be more worried about having bleach in a plant misting bottle -
it isn't likely to do house plants or eyes any good at all. Bottles used
for detergents and bleach cleaning combos have a twist lock on the
nozzle so that they can't be accidentally used.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Fri, 16 Dec 2016 08:09:42 +0000, Martin Brown
wrote:

TBH I'd be more worried about having bleach in a plant misting bottle -
it isn't likely to do house plants or eyes any good at all. Bottles used
for detergents and bleach cleaning combos have a twist lock on the
nozzle so that they can't be accidentally used.

Yeah, wot e said.

Thick bleach and plastic-bristled something to brusch reduces aerosols that
could end up in your lungs....


Thomas Prufer

On 2016-12-16, Martin Brown wrote:

On 15/12/2016 15:11, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 15/12/16 17:05, Simon Mason wrote:
On Thursday, 15 December 2016 14:15:05 UTC, Adam Funk wrote:
I've been looking around for information about the decomposition of
bleach sprayed (from a "plant misting" bottle) on tiles & grout, in
order to find out whether, after it dries, I still need to rinse it
off before anyone uses the shower or bath & to avoid damaging clothes,

You wear clothes in the shower?

No, but I have splashed bleach on my trouser legs while applying it
(with a paintbrush, TBH) to the tiles & grout. ...

The solid will be left behind as dry residue which once wet again will
be bleach, so it will need washing down with clean water.

Well not for long. What's left will in general be salt and sodium
chlorate. A weedkiller and explosive.

Though cut with salt to that extent it isn't much of one. But it will
still damage and bleach some sensitive organic dyes even as chlorate.

I'd expect in the shower would be no problem since the diluting effect
of that much water will wash it away pretty quickly.

OK, I'll stick to doing this on days when I'm working from home, &
I'll rinse it before anyone else comes home.


TBH I'd be more worried about having bleach in a plant misting bottle -
it isn't likely to do house plants or eyes any good at all. Bottles used
for detergents and bleach cleaning combos have a twist lock on the
nozzle so that they can't be accidentally used.

I'm not firehosing it from a distance, but applying it very close to
the grout with the nozzle set to a narrow spray. I also have it
labelled clearly & keep it out of the way.