Thursday, September 8, 2011

To Bleach or Not to Bleach...That is the Question

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the smell of chlorine. Put me in the lobby of the local indoor Y and I was in heaven. During my childhood summers, my mom would bleach our crisp white sheets and lay them out on the living room floor in front of a big box fan as a cool way to relax in the days before air-conditioning. As such, the smell of chlorine bleach reminds me of cool, refreshing, crisp clean-NESS. 

As an adult, I have always felt it important to use bleach and bleach-containing products when cleaning and laundering. There is something quintessentially hygienic about the use of bleach when cleaning. For me, the smell of bleach equals the smell of clean. I can picture the little bleach molecules destroying the germs and mold and bacteria and viruses clinging to the surfaces of my house.

BUT...I have discovered two things about using The Bleach.

One...is the obvious...as my best friend likes to point out to me often. The Bleach is toxic. It can burn your skin. It can burn your lungs. The Bleach can even kill you if you are not careful. Per my BFF, other products clean and sanitize just as well as bleach. Point taken.

The second thing is more of a personal problem. I cannot contain The Bleach. Every time I clean anything with bleach, I end up bleaching everything in my path including (but not limited to) whatever outfit I am wearing to clean. Yesterday....I squirted bleach-containing toilet bowl cleaner on my favorite lounging pants. (Little overzealous with the toilet bowl cleaner, you might say. But, is my toilet sparkling? Oh yes!) When we cleaned our apartment before moving...bleach....all over my lovely brown shirt. I have had people point out to me that I have something on my shirt, pants, sweater, whatever and have to explain..."oh yeah...that's a bleach stain". When I first moved in with my husband...I destroyed a set of really nice sheets. Bleach. (In my own defense, before my existence in his life...he rarely RARELY washed his sheets and I felt that extra sanitation was in order before I slipped my clean, sanitized body between them. I sanitized the heck outta those sheets...so much so that they just...umm...fell apart?! Oopsy!) He hasn't let me forget this incident since. 

Anyway...given my latest pants bleaching incident and the fact that I have almost assuredly come close to asphyxiating myself while cleaning the bathroom on multiple occasions, I think it is really truly time for this girl to step away from The Bleach. It will take me some time to replace my bleach-y products with safe non-toxic yet germ-killing goods, but I think in the long run my skin, lungs, internal organs, wardrobe and marriage will all be better for it.

Goodbye crisp clean refreshing and lovely chlorine smell. You will be sorely missed!

1 comment:

  1. Who is this wise BFF you speak of? She must be in MENSA!!! :) I am so surprised you have taken this long to heed her advise based on the fact you have scorned her repeatedly for being an over-cleaner. You would have thought you would have taken her cleaning advice years ago. Yes, I must applaud your best friend. She clearly has been very patient with your poor cleaning choices.

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