How does household bleach work?

Question

How does it make things white, and how does it kill germs?

Don't be afraid of being scientific in your answer.

I've done my fair share of chemistry but I can't remember anything about bleach, besides something to do with Chlorine ions.

*BONUS QUESTION*: Do you like the smell of bleach? (some people do; I'm undecided)
[WARNING: SOLVENT ABUSE CAN KILL INSTANTLY!]

Answer 1

Household bleach, also known as chlorine bleach

How does chlorine bleach work?


Chlorine itself is a gas at room temperature. Ordinary table salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) is half chlorine, and a simple electrochemical reaction with salt water produces chlorine gas easily. That same reaction produces sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and by mixing chlorine gas with sodium hydroxide you create sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). When you buy a gallon of bleach at the grocery store, what you are buying is the chemical sodium hypochlorite mixed with water in a 5.25-percent solution. You're buying salt water that has been changed slightly by electricity.

Chlorine is chlorine, so the chlorine in bleach is the same as the chlorine in drinking water and in a swimming pool. In fact, you can use chlorine bleach to treat a swimming pool or to treat drinking water. A gallon of bleach provides 1 part per million (PPM) of chlorine to 60,000 gallons (about 250,000 liters) of water. Typically, a pool is treated at a rate of 3 PPM, and drinking water is treated at anywhere from 0.2 PPM to 3 PPM depending on the level of contamination and the contact time.

Chlorine is used in pools and drinking water because it is a great disinfectant. It is able to kill bacteria and algae, among other things. Chlorine also makes a great stain remover, but not because of the chlorine itself. Natural stains (as well as dyes) produced by everything from mildew to grass come from chemical compounds called chromophores. Chromophores can absorb light at specific wavelengths and therefore cause colors. When chlorine reacts with water, it produces hydrochloric acid and atomic oxygen. The oxygen reacts easily with the chromophores to eliminate the portion of its structure that causes the color.

There has been a lot of discussion about the safety of chlorine in drinking water. It's not clear how safe or unsafe chlorine is, especially in PPM concentrations. But two things are clear:

It's a whole lot safer to drink chlorinated water than water contaminated with disease-causing bacteria. Millions of people have died from water-borne diseases, and these diseases are largely eliminated in modern water systems through the use of chlorine.
If you are worried about the chlorine in your water, all you have to do is let the water stand for a day or two in a loosely covered container in your refrigerator and the chlorine is eliminated.

What really kills those germs?
Chlorine has been used for many years as a disinfectant and has generally been associated with treatment of swimming pool water and water supplies. Chlorine gas reacts with water to form hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Hypochlorites are salts of this acid and represent the form in which chlorine is most commonly used. Chlorine and hypochlorites are bactericidal and act by oxidizing the cell membrane.

Do you like the smell of bleach?
Bleach smells great as a cleaner, and makes you house smell fresh and clean, but I don't like to smell it stright from the bottle: It's a little strong.

Answer 2

Bleach is nothing more than chlorine dissolved in a dilute solution of sodium hydroxide.

Bleach works because it is an oxidizing agent. To be frank with you, and I've ask many a Chem Professor the same question - why does chlorination turn things white - they don't know - but that's is the fundimental answer.

The material is chlorinated. Where specfically I don't know, probably at an unprotected aliphatic site, but it does pick up chlorine. If you run an elemental analysis of a bleached product after application of bleach - you will find chlorine in the sample - not a whole lot, but about 5-10%/weight.

No, I do not like the smell of bleach. And don't mix beach with that fizzle stuff you use in the toilet bowl (I forget the name of it). If you do, you will release a greenish gas, from the fizzle (chlorine , Cl2) which if you inhale it - IT WILL KILL YOU - so don't try it.

Answer 3

Color in most dyes and pigments are produced by molecules, such as beta carotene, that contain moieties (pieces) known as chromophores. Chemical bleaches work in one of two ways:

* An oxidizing bleach works by breaking the chemical bonds that make up the chromophore. This changes the molecule into a different substance that either does not contain a chromophore, or contains a chromophore that does not absorb visible light.

* A reducing bleach works by converting double bonds in the chromophore into single bonds. This eliminates the ability of the chromophore to absorb visible light.

Sunlight acts as a bleach through a process leading to similar results: high energy photons of light, often in the violet or ultraviolet range, can disrupt the bonds in the chromophore, rendering the resulting substance colorless

Answer 4

Chlorine itself is a gas at room temperature. Ordinary table salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) is half chlorine, and a simple electrochemical reaction with salt water produces chlorine gas easily. That same reaction produces sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and by mixing chlorine gas with sodium hydroxide you create sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). When you buy a gallon of bleach at the grocery store, what you are buying is the chemical sodium hypochlorite mixed with water in a 5.25-percent solution. You're buying salt water that has been changed slightly by electricity.

Chlorine is chlorine, so the chlorine in bleach is the same as the chlorine in drinking water and in a swimming pool. In fact, you can use chlorine bleach to treat a swimming pool or to treat drinking water. A gallon of bleach provides 1 part per million (PPM) of chlorine to 60,000 gallons (about 250,000 liters) of water. Typically, a pool is treated at a rate of 3 PPM, and drinking water is treated at anywhere from 0.2 PPM to 3 PPM depending on the level of contamination and the contact time.

Chlorine is used in pools and drinking water because it is a great disinfectant. It is able to kill bacteria and algae, among other things. Chlorine also makes a great stain remover, but not because of the chlorine itself. Natural stains (as well as dyes) produced by everything from mildew to grass come from chemical compounds called chromophores. Chromophores can absorb light at specific wavelengths and therefore cause colors. When chlorine reacts with water, it produces hydrochloric acid and atomic oxygen. The oxygen reacts easily with the chromophores to eliminate the portion of its structure that causes the color.

There has been a lot of discussion about the safety of chlorine in drinking water. It's not clear how safe or unsafe chlorine is, especially in PPM concentrations. But two things are clear:

It's a whole lot safer to drink chlorinated water than water contaminated with disease-causing bacteria. Millions of people have died from water-borne diseases, and these diseases are largely eliminated in modern water systems through the use of chlorine.
If you are worried about the chlorine in your water, all you have to do is let the water stand for a day or two in a loosely covered container in your refrigerator and the chlorine is eliminated.

Chlorine has been used for many years as a disinfectant and has generally been associated with treatment of swimming pool water and water supplies. Chlorine gas reacts with water to form hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Hypochlorites are salts of this acid and represent the form in which chlorine is most commonly used. Chlorine and hypochlorites are bactericidal and act by oxidizing the cell membrane.

I personally love the smell of bleach!!!!!!!!




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Answer 5

properly omit snoty pants looks like u comprehend each and every thing now dont u? So why the hell are u asking us? heavily improve up...it is the stupidest concern I even have ever heard. i'm hoping because of the fact of your refusal to take heed to every person that each and every physique your hair falls out. pass forward learn your lesson the difficult way. whats up a minimum of you may say you're dressing up because of the fact the bald britney for halloween! Then maybe u can purely get a purple wig!

Answer 6

Chemical reaction