Which Bleach to Use?

Choosing the right bleach/chemicals to use when cleaning your property can sometimes be overwhelming. That's why we're breaking it down for you to make it easier to understand what to look for & consider.

When cleaning your concrete and vinyl siding each year, it's important to use bleach, as it's the industry standard for proper maintenance. 

However, sometimes choosing which one to use can be a bit overwhelming. Not only are there multiple options, but the most common question we get asked is how strong or how much?

That's why we decided to break it down for you and keep it simple!

Often times you will here bleach referred to as "SH" or what's known as "sodium hypochlorite" which is just the fancy word for bleach.

"Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is a solution made from reacting chlorine with a sodium hydroxide solution. These two reactants are the major co-products from most chlor-alkali cells. Sodium hypochlorite, commonly referred to as bleach, has a variety of uses and is an excellent disinfectant/antimicrobial agent." - The Chlorine Institute

So what we're looking for in bleach is the concentration percentage of sodium hypochlorite. 

Is it 10% or 12.5%? 

How can you tell?

Each bottle of bleach or SH will have a label on it that breaks down the percentage of SH, and we usually recommend using a standard of 12.5% as it's the strongest you can readily buy, and is capable of removing most any and all organic growth.

You can use just regular germicidal bleach from Home Depot that you can pick up for a few bucks and it's about 7% roughly. This is perfect for house washes, and treating concrete, brick, pavers, you name it. You can always find higher concentrations by looking online, or calling your local pressure washing company or pool cleaning supply company and ask for a higher SH.

So at the end of the day, bleach is bleach, it's just the strength you're looking for and it's usually a bang for buck deal. How strong of bleach can I get for the proper price.

We hope that helps & we'll see for another tip next week!

We are your local power washing professionals located here in the Loudoun County, VA area. We service Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Herndon, Dulles, Reston, and beyond. If you're looking for a power washing company near you, give us a call! For more information about Wash Solutions LLC and how we can help you increase your curb appeal, give us a call at (571) 293-0118 or email us at [email protected].

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