I need to sterilize a bunch of metal/plastic and metal clothes hangers. Can I use a dilute bleach solution (I’ve heard that bleach corrodes metal), or do I have to go with something more expensive, like rubbing alcohol, instead?
good gosh, where have these clothes hangers been? why would they need sterilizing?
In a mold-infested apartment. Mold grew everywhere, and even stuff that didn’t directly have mold on it still reeks of mold.
It won’t hurt wire coat hangers. The dry cleaner type have a plastic coating on them. It would take long term contact to corrode metal, though it might discolor some decorative pieces.
I would be more worried about the plastic (depending on what sort it is) than the metal, but I can’t imagine the bleach will do much harm to either provided it is rinsed off before too long. I say go for it.
That’s the key. Soak them for a minute in a dilute (10%) bleach solution, and then rinse them well with water before drying them off. It’s how I clean my scissors in the lab.
do it the fast way. put the hangers in the dishwasher, spray with kitchen cleaner bleach spray anf then run through a quick wash in the dishwasher.
Bleach won’t harm plastic, AFAIK. I can’t see why it would - generally only organic solvents damage plastic.
Is it sunny? Hang them outside in the sun for a day. The UV will do it.
Sunlight is almost useless for killing most mold spores.
Interesting - there’s a ton of advice around that specifically says sunlight will kill mold spores. Here, for example.
Yes, you can. Here are the steps:
- Throw the hangers and the bleach into the trash.
- Buy some new hangers.
Seriously, they’re like a hundred for $3.
+1. At some point you have to decide what your time is worth, and I’m guessing it’s worth more than “spending an hour sterilizing clothes hangers”