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Once upon a time I wondered what it was in color-safe bleach that made it "bleach." I played around and figured out that the active ingredient is hydrogen peroxide - the same stuff you put on small wounds to "clean" them. Judging by the scent, consistency, and color of the color-safe bleach I had been using (Chlorox), other ingredients included perfumes, thickening agents, and bluing*.
"Aha," says I, "why shouldn't I just go buy a bottle of hydrogen peroxide for 79 cents and use it on my laundry instead of spending $6.50 on this bottle of color-safe bleach?"
So I did. Turns out that it works perfectly well. I use about half as much of it as I would of the "bleach," add a drop of bluing if I'm doing whites, and spend about 1/5 as much money, not to mention saving about half the packaging and countless mystery chemicals**.
Better still, of course, would be doing without it entirely. But I prefer getting the spots out of my clothes.
*Bluing, if you're not familiar with it, is a semi-permanent blue dye that has been used for decades to make white fabrics appear whiter. Whites naturally yellow with age, but adding just a little bluing to them counteracts that effect to some degree. Usually it is sold as a liquid and usage directions involve adding a drop or two to a load of laundry. It's also the reason we have blue-haired little old ladies.
**And am I the only one who hates the fact that household cleaners are rarely labeled with their ingredients? A few of the "natural" products label voluntarily, but it's definitely the exception rather than the rule.
"Aha," says I, "why shouldn't I just go buy a bottle of hydrogen peroxide for 79 cents and use it on my laundry instead of spending $6.50 on this bottle of color-safe bleach?"
So I did. Turns out that it works perfectly well. I use about half as much of it as I would of the "bleach," add a drop of bluing if I'm doing whites, and spend about 1/5 as much money, not to mention saving about half the packaging and countless mystery chemicals**.
Better still, of course, would be doing without it entirely. But I prefer getting the spots out of my clothes.
*Bluing, if you're not familiar with it, is a semi-permanent blue dye that has been used for decades to make white fabrics appear whiter. Whites naturally yellow with age, but adding just a little bluing to them counteracts that effect to some degree. Usually it is sold as a liquid and usage directions involve adding a drop or two to a load of laundry. It's also the reason we have blue-haired little old ladies.
**And am I the only one who hates the fact that household cleaners are rarely labeled with their ingredients? A few of the "natural" products label voluntarily, but it's definitely the exception rather than the rule.
