# can cleaning with bleach cause a problem ?



## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i read on the msu.edu website that bleach coming in contact with urine can produce chlorine gas.
sounds bad ... am i overreacting ? are they talking big portions of straight pee and undiluted bleach ??

i couldn't find more details so i'm wondering how much of a potential problem it use using a bleach w/ water when i scrub off concrete that gets peed on, etc

i think the uric acid can penetrate concrete and crystalize, etc., and even it i stay on top of my cleaning, i'm sure there is pee or remnants of it on the surface

is this a problem at all outdoors, or should i leave bleach out of the mix, etc ?
- i'm not a clean freak; actually kindalazy  often it's just a hosing off with water and some light scrubbing (i did use a concrete sealer to try and limit penetration), and sometimes i'll add some vinegar to scrub, and other times a little simple green
- never bought anything "made to order" for this and never seen anything advertised where i shop


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## Peter Cavallaro (Dec 1, 2010)

rick smith said:


> i read on the msu.edu website that bleach coming in contact with urine can produce chlorine gas.
> sounds bad *... am i overreacting ?*


 
yes you are


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

thanks for bringing me back to reality Peter ... 

and that will save me a few bucks since i was getting ready to mail off a sample bucket to the chem lab of piss/bleach i just had my dog mix up for me


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## Peter Cavallaro (Dec 1, 2010)

why send it to the lab, stick your head in the bucket and if your eyes sting and yr throat hurts it's chlorine gas, (disclaimer: don't pass out and drown in a bucket of piss and bleach while doing this.

Cl2 was the first chemical weapon ever used after all, nasty sh!t.

still not convinced its chlorine put a red rose in the gas and see what cloour it changes to.

hope this helps


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## Peter Cavallaro (Dec 1, 2010)

rick smith said:


> of piss/bleach i just had my dog mix up for me


did you have to train this first??:razz:


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

re: "did you have to train this first??"
i tried but it was a total disaster

first, i was gonna back chain it 
so after carefullydetermining the proper height, i held the bucket when he lifted his leg; he missed the bucket and got me

then i decided i'd shape it
as soon as he even looked at the bucket i figured i'd toss him a cookie ..
- but he wasn't engaged enuff ... he missed the cookie and it went into the bucket of bleach, which then had to be replaced since i knew it would contaminate the sample

time 4 compulsion (he knew damn good and well what i wanted by this time) ....
put on the prong
ears go up
pointed to the bucket
perfect targeting
but he fired a blank
.... forgot he had already drained the dragon :-(

but fwiw, the GF watching laffed so hard she peed so it wasn't a total failure and it ended on a positive like all good training should !


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## Dave Colborn (Mar 25, 2009)

Bleach is horrible on metal kennel panels. I wouldn't use it for that reason alone.


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## Peter Cavallaro (Dec 1, 2010)

haha, could be the start of a new AKC dog sport lol, doesn't sound any crazier than dock diving.

cheers


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## Peter Cavallaro (Dec 1, 2010)

yeah in all seriousness there are options for more benign disinfectants


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I am not scared of bleach...why I even have some in my laundry room.....yes it is rough on metal and plants though.

Did this in the basement when I was a kid. Wonder we survived. As a budding chemist I was known to mix household chemicals to see what happened. My father went to his grave not knowing exactly what happened to the shag rug in the basement other than whatever it was ate through the styrofoam ice chest and the carpet.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/toxicchemicals/a/Mixing-Bleach-And-Ammonia.htm

Anyway that is bleach plus ammonia (urine) but quantity plays into the picture


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## Peter Cavallaro (Dec 1, 2010)

Nancy thanks for the link - you can make hydrazine that way - thats way cool


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## mel boschwitz (Apr 23, 2010)

Im to cheap to buy ready made store cleaners so i clean with bleach and water mix. Never had a problem in all my years cleaning with it and cleaning up after occasional dog messes. Or maybe there is a problem and that explains me. Lol


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## Peter Cavallaro (Dec 1, 2010)

mel boschwitz said:


> Im to cheap to buy ready made store cleaners so i clean with bleach and water mix. Never had a problem in all my years cleaning with it and cleaning up after occasional dog messes. Or maybe there is a problem and that explains me. Lol


 
haha


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## Angie Stark (Jul 10, 2009)

Bleach is not a cleaner, its a disinfectant. Most people use waaay to much. There are much less harmful disinfectents available but bleach is probably the cheapest.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

It is hard to find anything else as effective as bleach. 10% is the optimal solution, made DAILY. Worked in a blood testing lab and that is what we used for everything. 

Alcohol is not as effective but is an option for metal as bleach is hard on that. You can use glutaraldehyde but it has some nasty respiratory effects. 

You need contact time to disinfect properly though, about 10 minutes. I use bleach for my HRD containers (outside) and my ammo boxes (plastic...the HR is pretty corrosive as is and will eat away metal)


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

what's the diff between bleach and the microbial stuff (like urine off) that supposedly "eats" the organic material to remove the smell factor after urine has dried ... supposedly removes all blood traces too ? can't get that stuff here cheap .. a doc friend says they use some type like that but it is VERY expensive ... not worth the money ?


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i know blood can be hard to remove cause i saw a cat get whacked by a car and a year later that spot is still there on the street, surviving car traffic and a heavy monsoon season. i'm assuming the spot is mostly blood.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

http://www.wysiwash.com/kennelcleaner.html

Excellent product. I use it to clean the patio and concrete areas. Small yard and two intact males means there are very few areas in my yard that aren't marking posts.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

You only need like a 1/32 dilution to kill parvo, so absolutely don't use straight bleach. And Angie is right, it's a disinfectant, not a cleaner. Like many disinfectants, you need to clean before you apply or it gets deactivated by organic material (i.e.-poop). So all you end up with is really clean poo. ;-)


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## Zakia Days (Mar 13, 2009)

! I was thinking the same thing! LOL!!!!


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Like anything...a little goes a long way. As a former wrestling coach, we used about an ounce to a few gallons of water for mat cleaning. Makes red underware an interesting shade of..........


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