On an oxygen equivalency basis the costs are similar. While the purchase price of hydrogen peroxide products are cheaper than the powdered versions you must consider that much of the product is water. However this does shorten the shelf stability. Another popular dilution is the 35% food grade which doesn’t contain chemical stabilizers as the 3% solution does. Many consumers use 3% hydrogen peroxide for general household purposes. Hydrogen peroxide can be purchased in many dilutions. It releases oxygen which does the cleaning and bleaching leaving only water as the byproduct. They are not suited for some finer grades of silk or woolĪs mentioned previously, another way to purchase oxygen bleach is as a water solution of hydrogen peroxide. While very effective, oxygen bleaches can take longer to work Oxygen bleaching products can cost more to use than standard cleaning products Powdered oxygen bleaches do have some minor drawbacks you should be aware of: Very environmentally friendly as they break down into natural soda ash and/or borax after the oxygen is released.ĭisadvantages of Powdered Oxygen Bleaches Non-toxic to animals, plants and humans. Oxygen bleaches can be mixed or used with other household cleaners Acts as a disinfectant on both bacteria and viruses likely to be encountered in the home Better long term shelf stability than liquid hydrogen peroxide products Unlike many products that are sold as environmentally friendly cleaners that are not that effective, oxygen bleaches really do work and for some stains even do a better job than traditional bleaches or cleaners. Also they can be used on carpet, upholstery and even the most delicate linens (except for some types of wool and silk) without harming the fabric. Probably the best advantage of an oxygen bleach is that you can get rid of stubborn dirt and organic stains without having to use toxic and hazardous materials like chlorine bleach. While Asian bleaches are generally lower in cost, the US produced bleaches are the most consistent in composition and performance. They are currently being manufactured in the United States, Korea and China. (One popular infomercial seen on television claims that their oxygen bleach takes the oxygen right out of the air which is totally false!!) Pure sodium percarbonate contains about 13-14% oxygen and sodium perborate contains about 10-15% oxygen. Upon dissolving in water, they release the oxygen.
These materials can absorb the oxygen while remaining free flowing solids. Powdered bleaches are made by treating natural soda ash or natural borax with hydrogen peroxide. While sodium perbcarbonate has the highest solubility in water, sodium perborate is more storage stable in detergent formulations. Sodium perborate is also a powder and is used mostly in automatic dishwashing and laundry products as a hot water bleaching agent. Sodium percarbonate is used in deck, carpet, household and laundry cleaning products. While hydrogen peroxide is a liquid, sodium percarbonate and sodium perborate are powders. There are three types of oxygen bleaches sold in the consumer market, hydrogen peroxide, sodium percarbonate and sodium perborate. Oxygen bleaches are materials that release oxygen for cleaning and bleaching of stains and dirt upon addition to water. This page attempts to look at these products and give you an overview as to what they are, how they work and how they are used. While these unique cleaners and stain removers have been around for years it is only recently that they have come into prominence in the consumer market. At The Laundry Alternative, we want to provide you with informative washing solutions from the SuperPop Washing Machine to types of detergents. They range from “Tide with Bleach” to “OxiClean” to “Ajax Oxygen Bleach Powder Cleanser” to “Wolmans Deck and Siding Brightener”. POWDERED OXYGEN BLEACH PRODUCTS OXICLEAN, OXY-BOOST, CLOROX OXYGEN ACTION, STAIN SOLVER, OXYGEN8, WHITE WAVE, AJAX, DECK AND SIDING BRIGHTENER, ETC. AN OVERVIEW……īy now many of us are familiar with powdered oxygen bleaching products seen in stores or advertised on television.