Update! Changes to the bleach calculator 👩‍🔬👩‍💻

Science is always evolving and so is our website. This week we are making some improvements to our bleach calculators to make them even more straightforward and practical for you. 

Change one: updating the recommended sanitise temperature

We now recommend you set the sanitise temperature to the highest temperature the fabric can handle, which is usually 40–60°C.

Previously we advised you to sanitise in cold water, but we realised even in hot water, the speed of degradation of chlorine bleach is not significant enough to render it immediately ineffective. Since hot (60°C) water washes items much better than cold water, the heat will help the increase stain removal power of your sanitise wash. It also has the added benefit of reducing the chlorine smell at the end of the cycle.

Change two: changing the post-sanitise wash requirement

We are removing the post-sanitise wash for in-wash sanitises and stain removal cycles. This step is unnecessary as any bleach that is not used up during the wash phase is washed out during the rinse phase. 

If you are sensitive to the smell of bleach, add an extra rinse cycle. The smell will also dissipate once the items are dry.

Note: a post-sanitise wash is still needed for small-scale sanitises.

Change three: reducing the time delay before adding bleach to your front loader

Many members told us they found it hard to remember to go back and add bleach to their first washes.

The time delay was originally a precautionary measure to prevent issues if people added non-colourfast items to the cycle. Our in-wash sanitises are designed for colourfast items. This means there is no reason to wait 5–10 minutes before adding bleach to your front loader.

The updated instructions now say you can add the chlorine bleach as soon as the machine starts flushing water through the detergent drawer.

We know some of you like to play by your own rules and add non-colourfast items to bleachy first washes. This entails some risk of colour fading. If you want to do so, it is best to wait at least 5 minutes to allow the machine to fill slightly with water. This will prevent uneven bleaching of colours for non-colourfast items.

Live now ✨🪄

We hope these changes make your life and laundry a little easier. Let us know what you think about them!

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