How Bad is Bleach?

The best things about bleach is that it is cheap and it does kill germs. But, is this a Green or good product for everyday use? In our opinion, bleach is dangerous at several levels and everyone should reconsider its use.

A few years ago, Michael Patterson was working at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Burlington, Massachusetts when he spill a a product called Scale Kleen on the floor. Another employee helped clean up the floor using a product called Super 8. The mixture turned green and started bubbling. The bubbling puddle emitted fumes, driving employees and customers to evacuate the restaurant. The manager, 32-year-old Ryan Baldera, attempted to clean up the liquid and was overcome by the fumes. He died later at the hospital, states a Burlington Fire Department press release.

It was found that the Super 8 product had 8-10% sodium hypochlorite which is much stronger than household bleach. Scale Kleen contains 22–28% phosphoric acid, 18–23% nitric acid, and less than 1% urea. When mixed together, a chlorine gas is produced.

The public should be warned that mixing bleach and ammonia or other cleaning product can be deadly. Yet, this all seems to be roundly ignored.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, accidental exposures to chlorine gas from mixing bleach and acid happened 2,284 times in 2017.

On a lesser known subject, bleach produces VOCs when used for sanitizing. This is harmful to workers and people in the building as a long-term health issue. Sick building syndrome happens when toxic chemicals reach basic saturation levels.

Switch your sanitizing produce to CD Plus that is a well-recognized, very-effective sanitizer with one of the fastest kill rates in the industry. There are no VOCs and the danger from inadvertant chemical accidents.