I also use Winco (Arlington) for pool bleach but am still confused with the date code. Could you help? Oh! Thanks for the price comparison info.
Best Places to Buy Liquid Chlorine
- Thread starter JohnT
- Start date
GSL183004107
Regarding date codes on WinCo bleach, the above is what the code looks like from a jug from recent purchase I made.
According to their customer service, who got the information from their supplier, this indicates the bleach was manufactured on 04/30/2018 at 1:07pm. I purchased that jug on may 25, so I am good with that. The oldest I have had to purchase from WinCo was about 4 months old in February I believe. Middle of winter, coming out of Christmas and new years, so maybe less is sold during winter and if manufacturer shuts down for holidays might be reason? I don't know. But that was only time date code was more than 2 months. Seems usually 15 days to 45 days old is the norm.
Hope this helps...sorry for delayed response...busy weekend...in the pool!!! LOL Too hot, too early here in Texas huh? 105 in Denton county Saturday...that's just not right!
Regarding date codes on WinCo bleach, the above is what the code looks like from a jug from recent purchase I made.
According to their customer service, who got the information from their supplier, this indicates the bleach was manufactured on 04/30/2018 at 1:07pm. I purchased that jug on may 25, so I am good with that. The oldest I have had to purchase from WinCo was about 4 months old in February I believe. Middle of winter, coming out of Christmas and new years, so maybe less is sold during winter and if manufacturer shuts down for holidays might be reason? I don't know. But that was only time date code was more than 2 months. Seems usually 15 days to 45 days old is the norm.
Hope this helps...sorry for delayed response...busy weekend...in the pool!!! LOL Too hot, too early here in Texas huh? 105 in Denton county Saturday...that's just not right!
https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/83147-Chlorine-Date-Code-Decoder-Easy-Way-to-Measure-Strength
Here is an older thread in which a guy gives good info on testing strength of bleach but also how to read date codes on various brands of bleach. A little dated, as home Depot for example has changed brands. Next time I buy some there I will try to post the code here with an interpretation...I remember their new stuff had a easy to decipher code but can't remember specifics. If there is a more recent thread about date codes, I haven't seen it, so if someone else knows please post. Bleach as sanitizer is the best imo but only if you can be sure you are getting fresh and at fair price!!!
Here is an older thread in which a guy gives good info on testing strength of bleach but also how to read date codes on various brands of bleach. A little dated, as home Depot for example has changed brands. Next time I buy some there I will try to post the code here with an interpretation...I remember their new stuff had a easy to decipher code but can't remember specifics. If there is a more recent thread about date codes, I haven't seen it, so if someone else knows please post. Bleach as sanitizer is the best imo but only if you can be sure you are getting fresh and at fair price!!!
Guy tests dollar general bleach - is that an option? My wife keeps telling me to go there but I fear it would not be worth the time as I suspect they do not label the bottles.
That post is four years old and I have never checked Dollar General. There is one within walking distance and I go there only if I need quick milk or bread and don't want to trek distance to bigger store. I guess it would be worth a cursory check next time I stop in but if it is not clearly labeled as 6% or 8.25%, you can bet it is 3% or less. Not worth lugging the extra containers for that low a percentage IMHO. But who knows, I may be wrong and I may have been missing a great deal. Post if you check it out and find a deal. Right now, for me, WinCo or Home Depot fit my need at a fair price.
From past reads here folks who have tried those discount dollar store bleaches have been disappointed.
Maddie
Maddie
Has anyone found a good big box store substitute for Costco? Costco here in northern NJ doesn't carry 8.25% bleach anymore. It's 6% now. And there price has gone up. 6% is a lot of gallons to haul and sanitize a 27,000 gal pool.
Is the 10% liquid chlorine from Walmart not available to you?
Pool Essentials Chlorinating Liquid - Walmart.com
I agree with Maddie about discount dollar stores. I don't know for a fact but sometimes a lot of their hard goods are distributor close-outs when not labeled with their own brand name. That is why what you see one week will not be there a week or month later. Case in point may be what I found in Dollar General below.
So had opportunity to roll through both Dollar General and Home Depot in Lewisville area this morning.
Dollar General: No reason to go there for bleach/chlorine. Maybe if you are there already, you might look in the future to see if things have changed but currently, they sell a lot of varieties of bleaches, most of which is overpriced Clorox and off/store brands of scented and splashless stuff (not for use in pool). In the pure bleach, what they had was all 6% and as follows: Clorox was $3.69 for 121 oz of 6%--didn't even check date code, too much money even if it was made yesterday. Then they had their DG store brand, 6% at $2.79 for 128 oz and some off-brand that I cannot remember the name, 6% at $2.30 for 128 oz. Their DG was coded 18 107, meaning it was made April 17, 2018--so not bad if price/strength was better or in a pinch. The off-brand stuff wasn't worthy if they were giving it away. All of the date codes were 17 251 and older (most older). So the freshest stuff was from September of last year! Nope!
Home Depot: Checked the date coding on their gallons of 10% liquid chlorine (3 pack for $9.99). As I thought I remembered but wanted to be sure before posting, they too use the familiar two digit year and three digit Julian code (day number of the year). The stuff on the shelf was 18 117, so April 27, 2018, which is fresh by my standards.
Maybe I should start another thread (and search) but if anyone knows what the shelf life for muriatic acid is, I would be interested. Reason in Home Depot was I needed some and they are certainly cheaper than the pool store, even if you have to buy 2 gallons. Since I only needed to add 1/3 a gallon to pool, 2 gallons was a little overkill but I may acid wash a garage floor later in the summer so it will eventually get used this time. But being rare that I need more than a gallon in a given year, curious about how long muriatic acid would be good for and/or if it diminishes in strength with time (31% solution). And for the record, the date coding is the same Julian calendar system for many of the bleaches. Stuff I bought was 18 107, so manufactured on April 17, 2018.
So had opportunity to roll through both Dollar General and Home Depot in Lewisville area this morning.
Dollar General: No reason to go there for bleach/chlorine. Maybe if you are there already, you might look in the future to see if things have changed but currently, they sell a lot of varieties of bleaches, most of which is overpriced Clorox and off/store brands of scented and splashless stuff (not for use in pool). In the pure bleach, what they had was all 6% and as follows: Clorox was $3.69 for 121 oz of 6%--didn't even check date code, too much money even if it was made yesterday. Then they had their DG store brand, 6% at $2.79 for 128 oz and some off-brand that I cannot remember the name, 6% at $2.30 for 128 oz. Their DG was coded 18 107, meaning it was made April 17, 2018--so not bad if price/strength was better or in a pinch. The off-brand stuff wasn't worthy if they were giving it away. All of the date codes were 17 251 and older (most older). So the freshest stuff was from September of last year! Nope!
Home Depot: Checked the date coding on their gallons of 10% liquid chlorine (3 pack for $9.99). As I thought I remembered but wanted to be sure before posting, they too use the familiar two digit year and three digit Julian code (day number of the year). The stuff on the shelf was 18 117, so April 27, 2018, which is fresh by my standards.
Maybe I should start another thread (and search) but if anyone knows what the shelf life for muriatic acid is, I would be interested. Reason in Home Depot was I needed some and they are certainly cheaper than the pool store, even if you have to buy 2 gallons. Since I only needed to add 1/3 a gallon to pool, 2 gallons was a little overkill but I may acid wash a garage floor later in the summer so it will eventually get used this time. But being rare that I need more than a gallon in a given year, curious about how long muriatic acid would be good for and/or if it diminishes in strength with time (31% solution). And for the record, the date coding is the same Julian calendar system for many of the bleaches. Stuff I bought was 18 107, so manufactured on April 17, 2018.
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,125
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Yeah, no complaints from there stuff. It’s the cheapest and most concentrated in the northeast. My backup source is Homedepot bleach as job lot only seems to get one massive load for the season so when it’s gone it’s gone.
I just found 8.25 at Menard's in Kansas City for 2.89 121 oz, but don't know how to read the date code. It's 1813738PA-1 11:34 (6). I'm guessing it May 17, 2018 or close.
Good deal?
Good deal?
My guess would be that you are correct with your date assessment.
Good deal? Not a bad deal, although I can find it cheaper near me in DFW area. But only slightly cheaper. Just depends on what else is around you. I do not know KC and what other stores may be available to you. As with all things, sometimes the rock bottom price is not the best deal when factoring in drive time and convenience. That said, I doubt you will find it fresher--barely two weeks old is about as fresh as I have seen!
laprjns
LifeTime Supporter
- Aug 14, 2012
- 577
- Pool Size
- 30000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
That's interesting. The OSJL that I have been going to for six years now in Enfield CT get shipments in around once a month between April and August. They have very high turnover there. I usually get it within a couple of weeks from when it manufactured.
Napco Chemical Company (2830 Spring Cypress, Spring, TX 77388) sells to walk-in. You must have a hazardous chemical labeled container (or they can sell you one).
Sodium Hypochlorite - 12.5% bleach @ $1.68/gallon
If you need a container:
5gal square plastic (gas can) - $14
Cap - $1.75
Hazardous Material sticker - $2.00
Cheapest and highest concentration I've found anywhere.
Sodium Hypochlorite - 12.5% bleach @ $1.68/gallon
If you need a container:
5gal square plastic (gas can) - $14
Cap - $1.75
Hazardous Material sticker - $2.00
Cheapest and highest concentration I've found anywhere.
WOW! I think that beats everything else we've seen this year, GBrenham! 
Thanks for sharing.
Maddie
Thanks for sharing.
Maddie
Geez, wish I was closer to H-Town...but the drive from DFW would definitely eat up all the savings! LOL
Will do a search for someone locally that might do something like that. Thanks for sharing!
In DFW my Aldi has 8.25% 121oz jugs for 2.59. That's the best I've seen and beats Walmart by 11 cents/oz. I haven't checked dates, but I did just successfully SLAM my pool with it.
EDIT - Oh man I just saw the posts about Winco bleach. Will have to check that out. At $2 they beat Aldi by another 6 cents/oz
EDIT - Oh man I just saw the posts about Winco bleach. Will have to check that out. At $2 they beat Aldi by another 6 cents/oz