10% Bleach - Where to buy? Best suppliers (Europe)?

Experiments Glassware / Consumables
1

Hi everyone,

Where do you guys buy bleach (sodium hypochlorite)?
Buying ready-to-use 10% bleach is easier, but more expensive of course.

Could some people perhaps share where they buy their bleach and how they prepare it, please?

Thank you!

2

We just purchase from Fisher, measure it out 10% by volume for sterilization. Add concentrated bleach directly into carboy for waste.

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3

Hi Brandon,

Getting back to you on this: have you guys tested lower concentrations of bleach and considered the use of cheaper household bleach? Any thought on this?
It seems like 10% bleach is a lot, no? You could sterilize equally efficient with lower percentage and longer contact time?
Do you have sources on which you based the 10% bleach in your standard protocol (from JoVE)?

Thanks!

4

Hi again,

Coming back to this: the 10% you mentioned earlier is volume%, NOT % active chlorine, right.
So basically to know what your 10% reference is we should know the desinfective strength of your concentrated bleach.

Is this somewhere 12-14 % active chlorine, mostly similar for all chem grade bleach products you buy at chem companies like Fisher or Sigma or… ?

It’s that we are looking into the cheapest solution, and perhaps regular ‘thick bleach’ which you buy at the supermarket is an option.

Any feedback, please?

Thanks,
kevin

5

10% bleach is a 10% solution of typical household bleach. This is means the sterilizing solution is a 0.5~1w% NaOCl solution. If you read the SDS of any liquid bleach, you should be able to make a comparable solution. I would not recommend the thick, “no drip” laundry bleaches or scented bleaches as they tend to have unknown additives and lower concentrations. Get the cheapest bottle of unscented liquid bleach from a hardware store and you should be good.

We have used CloroxPro Germicidal Bleach, and its SDS states a concentration between 5-10w% NaOCl.

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6

Thanks a lot for the feedback FHsu!

We’re also in conversation with our facility safety officer. Some labs just poor bleached waste down the drain, but others require careful waste disposal.