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Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning.
In particular, mixing liquid bleach with other cleaning products, such as acids found in limescale-removing products, will release toxic chlorine gas. A common misconception is that mixing bleach with ammonia also releases chlorine, but in reality they react to produce chloramines such as nitrogen trichloride.
This glossary of chemistry terms is a list of terms and definitions relevant to chemistry, including chemical laws, diagrams and formulae, laboratory tools, glassware, and equipment. Chemistry is a physical science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter , as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions ...
Liquid bleach, often called just bleach, is a common chemical household product that consists of a dilute solution of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and other secondary ingredients. It is a chlorine releasing bleaching agent widely used to whiten clothes and remove stains, as a disinfectant to kill germs , and for several other uses.
This chlorine-releasing compound is the most common bleaching and disinfection compound. A dilute (3–6%) aqueous solution in water, historically known as Eau de Labarraque or "Labarraque's water", [17] is widely marketed as a household cleaning product, under the name "liquid bleach" or simply "bleach".
Bleach (pH 12) and ammonia (pH 11) are common alkaline cleaning agents. Often, dispersants, to prevent redeposition of dissolved dirt, and chelants, to attack rust, are added to the alkaline agent. Alkaline cleaners can dissolve fats (including grease), oils, and protein-based substances.
An urban legend claims that mixing household bleach (aqueous sodium hypochlorite) with ammonia-based cleaners releases chlorine gas or mustard gas; in reality, the gas produced by the reaction is a mixture of inorganic chloramines.
Calcium hypochlorite is an inorganic compound with chemical formula Ca(Cl O) 2, also written as Ca(OCl) 2.It is a white solid, although commercial samples appear yellow. It strongly smells of chlorine, owing to its slow decomposition in moist air.