# Chemists: is there a non-explosive "anti-bleach?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2001, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891 "2001-06-23T17:43:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sethdallob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@sethdallob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sethdallob)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891/1 "2001-06-23T17:43:02Z")
I accidentally put too much dry Clorox in my outdoor fountain. Way too much. Now I have suds and suds and suds of bubbles, and it’s clogging the pump. Is there something I can do short of dumping all the water out (which my downstairs neighbors won’t appreciate) or just waiting for it to evaporate? ---
**Author:** ![Verrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/46a35a/32.png) [@Verrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Verrain)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891/2 "2001-06-23T18:25:34Z")
I would say your best bet would be to try and dilute out the bleach with more water. Dilute acids, like vinegar, would netrulaize the bleach but the reaction tends to produce a lot of heat. There are also productes called Anti-Chlor which are sodium bisulfate solutions that are supposed to neutralize bleach, but I’ve no idea how that would work large scale. So as I said, best bet is to dilute it out as best you can. ---
**Author:** ![sethdallob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@sethdallob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sethdallob)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891/3 "2001-06-23T20:15:18Z")
Would scooping n’ dumping the suds have any effect in dilution, or are the suds just a by-product of the reaction with an evenly bleached water? ---
**Author:** ![Verrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/46a35a/32.png) [@Verrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Verrain)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891/4 "2001-06-24T20:36:59Z")
Well if you scoop it out and replace it with more water it would certainly help. I am not sure exactly why it suds though. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891/5 "2001-06-24T20:57:30Z")
Is this the “dry Clorox” that’s used as a laundry aid ? If so it has probably got a detergent mixed in with the bleaching agent; which is why you are getting so much foam. Scooping out the foam won’t do you much good, because you’ll still have a soapy solution, which will happily make more foam the next time you turn on the fountain. I suppose you could neutralize the detergent by adding some oil to the water, but that’s just as likely to make things messier. It’d probably be better to bite the bullet and drain the thing. ---
**Author:** ![sethdallob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@sethdallob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sethdallob)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891/6 "2001-06-25T19:04:58Z")
Yes **Squink** is right, it is dry clorox. I didn’t read anything about an included detergent though – and FYI, a week later the fountain is still suds-o-matic. It’s amazing that it doesn’t evaporate off. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891/7 "2001-06-25T21:34:08Z")
IANAC, but I don’t think much of the bleach is going to evaporate. I know it’s giving off some chlorine gas, but probably very little. The water will evaporate, but the amount of bleach in the system will stay about the same. Just like if you evaporate salt water you’re left with a crust of salt, if you evaporate bleachy water you’ll be left with the bleach crystals. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891/8 "2001-06-26T00:59:18Z")
Bleaches and similar oxidizing agents don’t normally cause foaming. Typical bleaches like Sodium hypochlorite, Hydrogen peroxide, and Benzoyl peroxide just don’t have the right molecular structure to make bubbles. I don’t think the Feds require companies to list all the ingredients in laundry products, so it’s not surprising that it wasn’t on the box. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemists-is-there-a-non-explosive-anti-bleach/69891/9 "2001-06-26T07:05:12Z")
Fabric softener. But, as Squink said, that would probably mess things up even more. Though at least it would smell downy fresh.