KITCHEN SINK CHEMICALS EXPLAINED
Every home has an armoury of liquids to combat stains and leave surfaces germfree. But how do they do their job?
WORDSMIKE BEDFORD
BLEACH
THE STAIN REMOVER
Bleach is a general-purpose cleaning product that disinfects and removes colour from organic stains. However, the same reaction that removes stains also damages organic fibres, so today bleach is far more likely to be used as a toilet cleaner thanks to its antimicrobial properties.
Bleach is commonly a solution of a pale yellow-green chemical called sodium hypochlorite. This breaks down ‘chromophores’, the parts of some molecules that absorb certain wavelengths of light so that only some are reflected, giving colour. Until recently, little was known about sodium hypochlorite’s antimicrobial action, but it’s now thought it causes a microbe’s proteins to unfold, destroying them.