12 Household Uses for Bleach You Should Know About

What You Can Use Bleach For Around Your Home – 12 Great Household Uses

Discover the many household uses for bleach. Bleach is a powerful cleaner that many people use all over their homes from laundry to sanitizing the floors.

The possibilities for bleach are nearly endless minus using on colors that could be destroyed by it. If you are looking for an easy and affordable way to clean your home from top to bottom bleach is a great option. Here are some great uses for bleach.

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Is Bleach Safe to Use?

Bleach is generally considered safe for use around the home. Due to the main ingredients’ quick breakdown, it is safe to use on most surfaces and can be rinsed off other surfaces. (You may want to read, can you use bleach on stainless steel?)

That said, too much bleach can be bad for you (your health) and can even damage surfaces that would normally be safe to use bleach on.

The general rule for bleach is to be careful when using it and to dilute it with water when using on surfaces or over large areas of your space.

Always open windows when using bleach to keep your home well ventilated and keep bleach out of children’s reach as it is extremely harmful if ingested or with skin contact.

Furthermore, most bleach bottles do not come with child-resistant caps.

12 Great Household Uses for Bleach

Cleaning your home, killing mold and germs, and even managing your yard can be done with the help of bleach. Bleach is a handy and frugal cleaner that you can get just about anywhere.

However, it’s smell can be quite overwhelming, but there are simple solutions for that lingering bleach smell. Find out how to get rid of bleach smell after cleaning your house with it.

#1. Restore Stained Grout

If your grout is highly stained and you are struggling to return it to its original condition, try using bleach.

A great way to do this for grout is to take bleach gel and fill a watercolor paintbrush pen with it. You can then paint the bleach directly onto your grout and allow it to sit before mopping your floor or wiping your walls.

#2. Remove Stains from Concrete

If you have stains on your garage or another cement floor you can use bleach to help remove the stain, leaving your cement looking great.

If this is not strong enough on its own, try sprinkling down baking soda to help scrub out the crevices.

(You may also want to read, can you use bleach on granite countertops?)

#3. Brighten Your Whites

White fabrics can be nearly impossible to keep clean and bright. The good news is that bleach will return them to their right white color, but you need to keep in mind that this may wear your white clothes and linens a bit faster.

So use sparingly and remember to add it to the water after filling not to dump it over your clothes where it could burn holes in them through a chemical reaction.

#4. Sanitize Toys

If your child’s toys have gotten dirty or your family has been sick, you can sanitize plastic toys, but drop them into a tub full of diluted bleach water.

This will kill germs quickly and easily so you can get on with your day. After soaking, rinse with shower head or hose to clear away the bleach and let dry.

#5. Remove Mold and Mildew

There are not a lot of things that can truly destroy mold and mildew. Bleach is one of the things that can kill mold and mildew and put an end to the problem.

Use a spray of diluted bleach to spray down moldy surfaces and let sit before wiping away. Repeat if needed until the stain is gone.

For tough mold stains you know have been killed off, you can add a little primer and follow up with a fresh coat of paint.

#6. Keep Cut Flowers Fresh

Adding a few drops of bleach to your cut flower vases can help to extend the flower’s life span by killing off bacteria that facilitate the breaking down of your flowers. This is a common trick used by florists to help keep their flowers fresher longer.

#7. Sanitize Your Cutting Boards

Cleaning your cutting boards with bleach is a great way to kill off germs. Cutting boards particularly wood and plastic ones are a major cause of the spread of food-borne bacteria.

A simple solution of 1 cup of water to 2 teaspoons of bleach is great for quickly sanitizing these surfaces to prevent the spread of illness.

#8. Cleaning Plant Pots

As you repot your plants you will want to reuse old pots but risk spreading germs and disease between plants.

Spraying down your pots with a mild solution of bleach water is a great way to stop this spread to help your garden thrive.

#9. Clean Your Garbage Cans

Garbage cans build up a large number of bacteria that causes odors. A great way to deal with this is to wash your trash cans with bleach.

The bleach will remove the germs, clear away stains and mold, and leave your cans smelling better. This is a good idea to do after trash pick up at least once a month in the summer to keep odors at bay.

#10. Brighten Dingy Dishware

If you have old dingy dishware you can brighten it up by soaking them in dishwater with a splash of added bleach.

This will help to break down any residue build-up from your dish detergent and remove any stains from scratches and groves. This works on everything from glass where to enameled cast iron.

#11. Clean Away Moss

You can clean away moss from surfaces by mixing 1 cup of bleach into 1 gallon of water. Spray this onto areas where moss has taken hold.

The bleach will kill the moss and you can easily wash it away with the hose the next day. Avoid getting this onto your decorative plants and grass as it is great at killing plants as well.

A sprayer is best for clearing areas near other plants so you can control where the bleach solution goes.

#12. Clean Your Toilet Bowls

Often people will buy toilet bowl cleaner but you can save money and use plain bleach for cleaning out your toilet bowls.

Simply pour it in, swish it around with your bowl brush and let sit to kill germs and break down tough stains. Scrub with the toilet brush and flush to leave behind a sparkling bowl.

Final Thoughts on the Uses for Bleach Around Your Home

You can see that there are so many things you can use bleach for around your home. However, you should be cautious when using bleach because even though it is safe to use, it can be bad for you (your health) and can damage some surfaces if not used the right way.