Many Good Reasons to Use Oxygen Bleach

Brighter brights and whiter whites is everyone’s laundry goal.

Since laundry accounts for a chunk of our household chores of course we want our clothes to come out of the wash looking bright and clean, which is why there is a whole aisle of the grocery store devoted laundry.

Laundry boosters like stain removers and bleach are an everyday part of our laundry arsenal and they’re often among the most toxic chemicals in our homes.

So many reasons to avoid bleach:

Bleach in particular is the most common skull-and-crossbones product in households. It’s surprisingly toxic considering how nonchalantly it gets flung around our homes.

Bleach is a respiratory irritant, meaning the fumes are toxic if inhaled, and it can also be absorbed into your body if it comes into contact with skin.

Chlorine bleach becomes especially dangerous when mixes with other household cleaners, giving off a toxic gas. As well, it is harmful to aquatic life when it gets washed down our drains and can create toxic dioxins when it comes in contact with other substances in the environment.

A safer alternative to chlorine bleach is oxygen bleach. Made with hydrogen peroxide or a mix of hydrogen peroxide and washing soda, oxygen bleach is safer for you and the environment. It doesn’t give of dangerous fumes, is non-reactive and is easy to use. Oxygen bleach simply breaks down into oxygen, water and a natural soda ash so is biodegradable.

More reasons to love oxygen bleach:

As a laundry booster I have found it works well on whites. For best results use oxygen bleach with hot water and let it dissolve completely before adding your laundry to the washing machine. Then, give everything a few minutes to soak with a sudsy mix of oxygen bleach and an eco-friendly detergent before starting the wash cycle.

Oxygen bleach softens the water making detergent more effective. It is also safe on colours (won’t leave white patches) so can be used as a stain remover and overall brightener on colored fabric as well. Another benefit is that oxygen bleach doesn’t weaken fabric and it can be safely mixed with other laundry and cleaning products.

One of the most effective natural disinfectants is hydrogen peroxide. Thanks to this, oxygen bleach has the added benefit of disinfecting and deodorizing laundry as it cleans.

Oxygen bleach can be used for other household cleaning too.

A spoonful dissolved in a cup of warm water can be used to clean mould and mildew in bathrooms. It can be used clean coffee and tea stains out of the insides of cups and mugs and to disinfect countertops and other hard surfaces.
Use oxygen bleach dissolved in water to clean mould, slime or grease of your deck or dock. To clean a deck with oxygen bleach, mix powdered oxygen bleach with water, stir until dissolved, and apply it to the deck surface with a mop. Let it soak at least 10 minutes and then start to scrub with a firm brush.
Oxygen bleach can also be used to clean deck furniture.

Even natural cleaners have their drawbacks. Avoid inhaling the dust from oxygen bleach since it’s a respiratory irritant.

Powdered oxygen bleach has a longer shelf life than liquid oxygen bleach and can be more effective.