I was told by my sister that adding a little Clorox to the dishwater will kill all the bacteria and germs that ordinary Palmolive or Dawn may not. Is this step necessary or unnecessary?
2007-02-10 05:47:05 · 11 answers · asked by Scott N 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Cleaning & Laundry
You dont want to add bleach. You would need to get the concentration of bleach to about 30 parts per million in the water to kill off all bacteria. At that concentration your dishes coming out of the dishwasher would literally smell of clorox bleach.
Your dish dryer, that red hot coil at the bottom, is a much better killer of germs than adding clorox. That is one of the main reasons to dry dishes in the dishwasher. Not only does that heat in there dry, it kills every last microbe.
2007-02-10 05:55:03 · answer #1 · answered by James M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you need to sanitize dishes because of an illness, this is the process to follow. 1. Wash dishes nornally with only hot water and soap. Be sure to rinse thoroughly to remove all soap. 2. Fill clean sink with COLD water and add the bleach to this water. Add the cleaned dishes to this sanitizing solution and leave for about 5 minutes. (Hot water AND soap break down the disinfecting properties of bleach, making it pointless to add the bleach to the original washing step) 3. I've read you can then air dry at this point but i always rinse first. I've found my info from the cdc website and other professionals. I do have contamination ocd so i have to do it properly. Hope this helps.
2016-05-25 02:47:23 · answer #2 · answered by Lauren 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it is advisable. Both Dawn and Palmolive say not to do so.
This is from Palmolive's website:
"Remember — never use your dish liquid in an automatic dishwasher, and never mix your dish liquid with bleach or ammonia."
2007-02-10 05:56:34 · answer #3 · answered by heartsonfire 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it wont hurt ur dishes to put some bleach in with it-- restaurants do it all the time.... but, most soaps kill most of the bacteria-- i use Dawn with bleach alternative, and it gets my dishes sparkling clean... I dont really see the need to bleach my dishes {altho, i do run bleach in my dishwasher, but thats mainly for when it smells a little 'funky'}
seriously, i doubt you need to do it, because the soap and hot water will wash most anything away... unless your having problems like MRSA outbreaks etc... but thats pretty uncommon.
2007-02-10 06:10:03 · answer #4 · answered by asailorsstar 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You run the risk of bleaching out your clothes, towels, etc. Why the paranoia? Most germs are killed by regular soap, scrubbing and rinsing. Be sure to rinse in one direction so the germies all wash down the drain and not back on your plates.
2007-02-10 05:51:37 · answer #5 · answered by Cindy W 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it is necessary. I use Dawn Anti-bacterial when I wash dishes by hand and no one in my family has gotten sick yet. There are some dish liquids that have bleach alternatives, but just do what you think is best for you or your family. Some people are just germ-a-phobic!
2007-02-10 05:54:26 · answer #6 · answered by F-1 says KISS IT! 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's okay to add a little bleach. Before I had a dishwasher, I'd do that when someone in the house was sick with a cold or flu.
2007-02-10 08:50:56 · answer #7 · answered by Classy Granny 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You could do that. But read the instructions because some of these products should not be mixed with bleach. You can also buy the products that have antibacterials in them
2007-02-10 08:02:14 · answer #8 · answered by bootie1706 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's okay to add bleach.
2007-02-10 05:50:13 · answer #9 · answered by ajd1bmf 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes its ok. Just not too much though. You also have to be carful no to get it on your clothes.
2007-02-10 05:55:34 · answer #10 · answered by Johnny Conservative 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋