What is oxygen bleach

It's not chlorine

Firstly, oxygen bleach is not what we grew up with. Many of us come from homes where chlorine bleach was the standard for cleaning just about everything, as well as whitening the washing.

Oxygenated bleach is a much gentler, chlorine-free, non-toxic, biodegradable alternative that leaves no harmful by-products or ugly orange splotches on your favourite T-shirt or super expensive new towel. You can safely remove stains and odours from clothing, and keep the kitchen, bathroom, and everywhere else as clean as a whistle and free from bacteria without breathing harmful fumes or risking chemical burns. Why would you want to use chlorine bleach?

A highly effective cleaning product, you can use oxygen bleach without having to worry about damaging your health, your home, your clothes or the planet. It can be used anywhere in or around the house that needs to be de-stained and deodorised and is effective and economical.

What's in oxygen bleach?

Traditional chlorine bleach uses sodium hypochlorite, a highly toxic substance as an oxidiser to break chemical bonds and release stain-causing substances. Oxygen bleach uses sodium percarbonate. When mixed with water, it breaks down to hydrogen peroxide, essentially water and oxygen plus sodium carbonate, or soda ash.

Oxygen bleach contains no phosphorous or nitrogen, so it is an eco-friendly choice when it comes to killing bacteria, brightening and whitening. But unlike traditional bleach, there is no hazardous toxicity. No more burning your skin, ruining clothes, or damaging surfaces like vinyl or tiles. Odourless and colourless, oxygen bleach comes in both liquid and powder form.

Stains? Consider them gone

Coffee, tea, wine, grease, fruit juice, food, sauce, grass and blood are no longer an issue. Oxygen bleach is great at deodorising and removing organic stains from clothes, towels and sheets (but, don’t use it on delicate fabrics like woollens and silks or any garment with leather trim or wooden buttons), and brightening colours and getting whites white. Since oxygen bleach works slowly, you will get the best results by allowing fabrics to soak for at least one hour in a solution prior to washing.

Oxygen bleach will boost the cleaning power of your regular washing detergent but doesn’t weaken fabrics like chlorine bleach does. Simply add the powder to either top- or front-loading machines.

Uses for oxygen bleach

But wait, there’s more. Oxygen bleach also works its cleaning magic on plastics, fibreglass, porcelain, ceramics, wood, carpets, asphalt, or concrete. It can be used on your kitchen bench or fridge, on camping gear, wooden decks, or your back patio. You can clean your carpet, couches and upholstery with it. Oxygen bleach will cut through grime and can be used to clean grout between tiles, shower walls and brick. It is also very effective for cleaning up water damage and mildew removal.

You can also soak brushes, sponges, mop heads, cleaning cloths, nappies and tools in a hot oxygen bleach solution to sanitise them.

Mixing oxygen bleach

Oxygen bleach can be used in any water temperature but sodium percarbonate solutions are most effective when mixed and used in warm to hot solutions (37 to 65 C). Sodium percabonate solutions will remain active for 5 to 6 hours, after which they should be discarded.

Powder or liquid?

Oxygen bleach comes in both a powder and liquid form, and powder tends to be more popular as it is more stable and will retain its cleaning power much longer than liquid formulas. The powder is more concentrated, is easy to use and can be mixed in warm or cool water to create just the amount needed for each application.

Powdered oxygen bleach has a shelf life of several years. Over time and exposure to air, the active chemicals in powdered oxygen bleach will revert to environmentally friendly natural soda ash after the oxygen is released. Liquid oxygen bleach formulas are a dilute solution of water and hydrogen peroxide and will break down after being opened, especially if exposed to light, eventually leaving only water molecules behind.

At Insinc, we’re interested in products that get the job done without killing the planet. When it comes to cleaning and killing germs, we’re interested in promoting oxygen bleach because you can improve your health, your home, and your cleaning, so why not give oxygenated bleach a try and your home or business.

To talk to us about how we can help with your cleaning needs, please call 0508 467 462 or you can email us at any time.