My Bleach is green...is this ok?

[stevenspool]

Hi folks,

From my readings of the board. The advise is to use 'plain' bleach..with no additives.
I've been buying the 6% Great Value walmart bleach...the bottle says nothing about it having any extra stuff in.

However...the bleach is lime green looking...is this normal? The bottle of clorox bleach I bought from Home Depot looked clear to me.

 

[Poolidiot]

I use to use the great value from Wal Mart until I found it cheaper at Albertsons 8) And when I used the great value brand it had a slight green tint to it and I never had a problem. Makes me wonder why it is more green looking then others though, bet one of the chem experts will chime in.

 

[Tdog]

All the bleach that I have used, whether it was Clorox or cheap stuff, has had a greenish tint. The greenish/yellow tint is normal.

I have had a couple of bottles that were clear. These bottles sat in my hot shed for a couple of weeks and who knows how long at the store. It is my feeling that the clear bottles of bleach may be less potent than what they should be. I do not know this for a fact though, as I have never tested them.

Maybe Chemgeek will chime in??

 

[chem geek]

Concentrated sodium hypochlorite is normally a yellow-green in color. If it's clear, then it's likely to no longer be concentrated. 12.5% chlorinating liquid will be more intense in color than 6% bleach.

The main difference between Clorox Regular and many off-brand Ultra bleaches is in the pH of the product with Clorox Regular at 11.4 and many off-brand Ultra bleaches at 12.5. The latter seem to have more "extra lye" in them which would mean more of a pH rise over time. With Clorox Regular, there is probably little if any pH rise from use of the product (i.e. any pH rise would be due to carbon dioxide outgassing from the pool, not from use of the bleach). With the off-brand bleaches at a chlorine addition/usage rate of 2 ppm FC per day, this could contribute to a 0.2 unit rise in pH per month. Still not that high.

Richard

 

[Utahtabby]

I'm not an expert but I heard that bleach, as it ages, eventually disintegrates into plain water, which might explain the clear color and lack of typical bleach smell. Bleach I have stored more than a year is always like that, so now I only buy it 'fresh' as needed. If this 'water' thing is true, I hope daycares, etc., are not counting on old bleach to disinfect their toys, etc.
Has anyone noticed, if using older bleach in their pools, if it doesn't raise the FC? Maybe that would be the test of this possible 'old wive's tale.'

Wal mart used to sell small tablets on a blister pack hanging in the laundry aisle that you could dissolve in water to create your own (many) gallons of bleach but the last time I looked for them, couldn't find them. At least it would be fresh!

Tabby