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TLDR: It's not as simple as "apply bleach - things die." Yeast and bacteria are not the same thing. Practically, bleach doesn't kill yeast - if you try to kill
by folknor 9y ago
TLDR: It's not as simple as "apply bleach - things die."
Yeast and bacteria are not the same thing. Practically, bleach doesn't kill yeast - if you try to kill fungus in your shower or on a wall with bleach, what that does is make it white. Which to us is a strong indication that it's dead, but it probably isn't.
To clean fungus from your shower, for example, you need to mix vinegar and fresh bleach with cold water (of which the fumes can actually kill you as well) and use the solution properly, or use an industrial cleaning agent.
Of course, someone who bleaches their shower will probably also wash it after (you should wash it _first_ before applying bleach), which might simply _physically remove_ most of the fungus from the surface. But depending on the solution you use, the fungus won't actually die.
Note that the above is mostly true in household use of bleach, and not in correct use. Bleach _does_ kill most fungus if used correctly, but essentially noone does. Hot water significantly reduces the effectiveness of bleach, and so does using _more_ than you should, and also it loses effectiveness rapidly when it comes in contact with unclean surfaces, fat/organic material (which there is plenty of on your wall), etc, and also doesn't have a long shelf-life (20% effectiveness lost yearly if stored properly). It also needs 10-30 minutes of contact time, compared to some prepared solutions that are 90% effective in a few seconds, and 95% effective after 10 seconds.
- michaelt 9y agoyou need to mix vinegar and fresh bleach with cold water (of which the fumes can actually kill you as well) All the results I can find on Google for "bleach vinegar" say "Do not do this, chlorine gas is poison" - where can I learn more about how to do it properly, and why it works?
- folknor 9y agoI believe it was Charlie Talley on this podcast: http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/9/0/390da96899933961/bbr03-29-07.mp3?c_id=1452161&expiration=1517859027&hwt=a5f7704d3178c89acade9ab7473b9bc4 http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/9/0/390da96899933961/bbr03-29-07... Essentially, you use the vinegar to adjust the pH of the water to the correct level - 8.0 - to get the right effect from the bleach (chlorine). Again, I have to stress what I said in my first post, that this _can be deadly for you_ if you don't use it correctly. http://podbay.fm/show/75092679/e/1175200200 http://podbay.fm/show/75092679/e/1175200200 might be a better link, I'm not sure. Interview starts around 9:30. Charlie is the inventor of Star San, a sanitizing solution used in breweries and by homebrewers. Which should make you skeptical, but don't be. He's essentially an expert who made a fantastic product, and only wants to help. In the podcast he outlines how to use normal household products as replacements for his products. I haven't listened to it since 2012 or so, so if I am mistaken about the source, please let me know and I'll find the correct source of the information in my original post.