For microbes bleach is the equivalent of a cluster bomb. If you know it's coming you can evolve to decrease the odds of it killing you, but if you don't know it

For microbes bleach is the equivalent of a cluster bomb. If you know it's coming you can evolve to decrease the odds of it killing you, but if you don't know it's coming there's nothing you can do. One thing some bacteria can do is create spores. These are a main reason various disinfectants, including dilute bleach mixtures, say they kill 99.999% of germs, and not 100%. Spores are highly, though not totally, resistant to damage. They can even survive autoclaving at standard autoclave temperatures and pressures. But making spores is the equivalent of sticking baby Superman in a pod and sending him to Earth. Spores are the next generation, the adult generation still dies. There are apparently better chlorine disinfectants than bleach which show good activity against spores: https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection/disinfection-methods/chemical.html https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection... > Alternative compounds that release chlorine and are used in the health-care setting include demand-release chlorine dioxide, sodium dichloroisocyanurate, and chloramine-T. The advantage of these compounds over the hypochlorites is that they retain chlorine longer and so exert a more prolonged bactericidal effect. > In vitro suspension tests showed that solutions containing about 140 ppm chlorine dioxide achieved a reduction factor exceeding 10^6 of S. aureus in 1 minute and of Bacillus atrophaeus spores in 2.5 minutes in the presence of 3 g/L bovine albumin. The potential for damaging equipment requires consideration because long-term use can damage the outer plastic coat of the insertion tube. In another study, chlorine dioxide solutions at either 600 ppm or 30 ppm killed Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare within 60 seconds after contact but contamination by organic material significantly affected the microbicidal properties.