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| Do you have a preference and why, please. Is there a difference? Thank you.
Pat |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Can't say I've used Clorox 2 but I just read a couple of MSDS's (there sure are a lot of variants) and it appears Oxi-Clean is not-too-dissimilar, which I have used, as well as borax. I do prefer oxygen bleaches such as Clorox 2 to whiten my whites on a regular basis (I use chlorine bleach a couple times per year), and occasionally with some colored fabrics I'll throw some oxygen bleach in. The borax, though, I really like to use for soaking my jackets and other clothes in when they begin to smell like an animal cage. It has been my experience that borax for this application is pretty hard to beat- inexpensive and highly effective. I am also curious what others have to say about Clorox 2 and borax. |
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| I've done some more research in the past 12 hours and have found that Clorox 2 and its variants are largely sodium carbonate (alkali) and either sodium percarbonate or sodium perborate (oxygen bleach) depending on formulation. Borax- sodium tetraborate- will also act as an oxygen bleach, albeit at higher water temperatures, and I suspect not as much as either perborate or percarbonate. I have come to the conclusion that Clorox 2 and other similar compounds are "borax on steroids", so to speak. Reading the MSDS's and seeing the active ingredients, I also think the companies who are formulating these are making money hand-over-fist! I could probably make my own for a very great deal less, the only issue would be if I wanted to use sodium perborate since using it below 140 F needs an activator such as TAED which seems difficult to obtain. Well, enough of that... In sum, the similarities appear to be that both borax and Clorox 2 are oxygen bleaches, with borax in my opinion not nearly so active/aggressive. Differences would be that borax requires hot water to be truly effective whereas Clorox 2 is active at lower water temperatures than borax. Whew! |
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| Wow. Great research, crashbox. Thank you very much. I am doing some research on all the bleach alternatives right now. Pat |
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