# odorless bleach? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2009, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odorless-bleach/496514 "2009-05-15T11:42:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odorless-bleach/496514/1 "2009-05-15T11:42:36Z")
A friend of mine has asked me, an ex-elementary science teacher, for help in locating something called “odorless bleach” for her daughter’s science project. The girl’s teacher was specific in the phrasing—it has to be “odorless bleach”. I’ve never heard of it, don’t know what it will be used for and can’t find anything in my science catalogs that seems to fit the bill. It must be a reagent of some type, right? Anyone know anything about it? ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odorless-bleach/496514/2 "2009-05-15T11:58:20Z")
There’s a number of oxidants that act like “bleach”…the chlorine based kind. These include hydrogen peroxide and that oxyclean stuff Billy Mays is always yelling at me about. On Edit: from a google search, it looks like “odorless bleach” is associated with photo finishing chemicals…which I expect will be a bit hard to find. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odorless-bleach/496514/3 "2009-05-15T12:06:48Z")
Here is an MSDS of said photofinishing odorless bleach, with (most) of the chemicals listed [http://joplin.cpac.com/cia\_prodlib.nsf/SortedProducts/55BL563/$File/55BL563msds.pdf?OpenElement](http://joplin.cpac.com/cia_prodlib.nsf/SortedProducts/55BL563/$File/55BL563msds.pdf?OpenElement) ---
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odorless-bleach/496514/4 "2009-05-15T13:12:35Z")
You guys are great. I had in fact googled before I posted but since I don’t understand the chemistry that I was reading, it didn’t make any sense. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odorless-bleach/496514/5 "2009-05-15T13:20:17Z")
Her daughter’s teacher is a douche. If he’s going to ask a child to find some obscure reagent that’s mostly used in a particular industry, he should give her a chemical formula or a brand name or at least a hint as to where to find it. Not everyone is going to have an industrial photo processing catalog sitting around. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odorless-bleach/496514/6 "2009-05-15T14:34:56Z")
I’m going to guess he/she has suggested some project that is pretty dated. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the activity was from a 30 year old book or older, when “odorless bleach” (whatever it actually is) was more commonly found. Or the source is from a different country or culture than typical USA where “odorless bleach” means something more commonly found. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odorless-bleach/496514/7 "2009-05-15T16:13:12Z")
_" odorless bleach?"_ If you mean having a bland or non-chlorine like odor there are a number of choices. Hydrogen Peroxide mentioned above, Oxyclean, a 'new product currently advertised on TV but don’t recall specific trade name, and results from searching for “odorless bleach.” Everything smells, some things more some things less! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odorless-bleach/496514/8 "2009-05-15T16:22:41Z")
Any chance the teacher could have simply meant **unscented bleach** , as opposed to the kind of household bleach that has had lemon fragrance or something like that added to it?