Bleach disposal

[john200]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a new liveaboard (or will be very soon once my house sale completes).

The first thing I've done on my new boat is rip out the badly plumbed stinky pump-out pipes and give the bathroom a thorough going over with bleach.. The boat was unused for ages before we bought it and the black water tank was left nearly full, and they used 'blue'. Not a pleasant thing, especially when the tank backed-up and overflowed inside due to a blockage.

 

Anyway, that's not what my question is about. My question is; what should I do with the bucket of bleachy water that's left?

 

I don't want to flush it into the pump-out tank, as I'm going to rinse and empty a few times to help promote the good bacteria.

I don't want to chuck it in the canal either, seems really bad, though I'm not sure what effects diluted household thick bleach has on aquatic life etc.

I don't have a 'grey' water storage solution at the moment.

 

What do others do with this kind of thing?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[Guest]

From memory I believe it is classed as a marine pollutant. Can you pour it into sealed containers and contact a recycling centre?

[mango]

Chlorine bleach (the active component is sodium hypochlorite) is fairly quickly broken down in the presence of organic matter, so the main concern is the 'blue' used in the tank. I suggest disposing of the waste as you would do if emptying a cassette.

[john200]

Chlorine bleach (the active component is sodium hypochlorite) is fairly quickly broken down in the presence of organic matter, so the main concern is the 'blue' used in the tank. I suggest disposing of the waste as you would do if emptying a cassette.

 

All the "nasty" stuff was mopped up with rags etc which were binned, so the bucket is just a diluted bleach solution that's left over from the last stage of the clean up & de-smelling process.

[patty-ann]

I am not sure but I was told that bleach becomes ineffective in sunlight so maybe leaving bucket outside where suns rays could render harmless may be plan...then again I could be wrong. Perhaps someone else knows truth behind this

[ditchcrawler]

Tap water contains bleach but is very dilute. So I know what I would do with it. If you are really bothered is there a bucket and checkit disposal point near you. What would you do with it at home?

[Grace and Favour]

Edited out - (for reasons of safety apparently!)

Edited July 9, 2014 by Grace & Favour

[nb Innisfree]

Dissolve a few camden tablets in the bleach mixture, they are made of sodium metabisulfate which neutralises the chlorine in bleach, it could then be chucked in the holding tank but SM can affect plastic tanks so maybe best down a sewer drain.

[The Lockie]

Edited out - (for reasons of safety apparently!)

Do not, under any circumstance do the above!!

 

Bleach and formaldehyde(the active component in elsan blue) =chlorine gas, if you want to know how bad that stuff is it was used in ww1 as a chemical weapon!!

Edited July 9, 2014 by Grace & Favour

[Phil Ambrose]

 

All the "nasty" stuff was mopped up with rags etc which were binned, so the bucket is just a diluted bleach solution that's left over from the last stage of the clean up & de-smelling process.

Dig a hole somewhere out of the way and pour it in there then sling some cut water in to further dilute and back fill, afterall its only a solution and not neat bleach and will soon dissapate in the soil.

Phil

[Naughty Cal]

This is one of the reasons we dont have bleach anywhere near our boat. Its a bugger to dispose of.

[mango]

 

All the "nasty" stuff was mopped up with rags etc which were binned, so the bucket is just a diluted bleach solution that's left over from the last stage of the clean up & de-smelling process.

As I have suggested it can be disposed of at a sanitary station. The main danger of bleach is when it is mixed with other materials, as mentioned above. Bleach releases chlorine gas if mixed with acids such as limescale remover.

 

Bear in mind that we use bleach to disinfect babies' bottles. Milton contains sodium hypochlorite, just like Domestos etc.

[luctor et emergo]

"a bucket of bleachy water"

 

We are not talking about pouring neat bleach into a pond are we?

[Phil Ambrose]

When I was a chef we used to wash lettuce I a type of Milton solution, common practice because as most of you are aware that salad stuffs can be a source of food poisoning if not washed correctly.

Phil

[nb Innisfree]

This is one of the reasons we dont have bleach anywhere near our boat. Its a bugger to dispose of.

If you go to a homebrew shop and buy some camden tablets, (preferably in powder form, called sodium metabisulfate) then you always have the means of neutralising bleach. It's how water companies sterilise water before distribution, treat with bleach (chlorine) then neutralise with SB and then add a small dose of chlorine to keep it fresh.

 

I used to sterilise my homebrew barrels with diluted bleach then add SB to neutralise then rinse out, no odour at all left.

 

Ifyou're really fussy you can add a teaspoon of SM to 2.5 galls of ordinary tap water to neutralise the chlorine, handy as an added bonus is they both neutralise each other, but if a small amount of SM is left it's less harmful than chlorine, after all it's often added to wine as a preservative.

[john200]

Thanks for all the replies guys & gals!

I hadn't thought about the bleach reacting with formaldahyde, lucky i didn't take it to an elsan point!!

That's a great tip from Innisfree.. Much better to neutralise than dispose. I've actually got a big tub of sodium bisulphate (ph-minus swimming pool stuff) that I use as a silver pickling solution (jewellery). Half a teaspoon of that will neutralise the bleachy bucket.

Though in future I don't think I'll be using bleach unless there's another extreme "mess" to deal with.

Edited July 10, 2014 by john200

[mango]

Thanks for all the replies guys & gals!

I hadn't thought about the bleach reacting with formaldahyde, lucky i didn't take it to an elsan point!!

That's a great tip from Innisfree.. Much better to neutralise than dispose. I've actually got a big tub of sodium bisulphate (ph-minus swimming pool stuff) that I use as a silver pickling solution (jewellery). Half a teaspoon of that will neutralise the bleachy bucket.

Though in future I don't think I'll be using bleach unless there's another extreme "mess" to deal with.

Assuming that you flush the elsan point, there is absolutely no danger. However, if you put bleach into a toilet containing 'blue' there would be.

 

Bleach is far more effective than sodium metabisulphite for what you have used it for, the main problem being that it is inactivated quickly by contact with organic material. I expect that most of the chlorine in your bucket of bleach will have been converted to salt by now.

[ditchcrawler]

An open container of diluted bleach soon loses it Chlorine to the air.

[nb Innisfree]

An open container of diluted bleach soon loses it Chlorine to the air.

Yes, just leaving a container of tapwater open loses it's chlorine taint, that's one advantage of a ventilated water tank.

[mango]

Yes, just leaving a container of tapwater open loses it's chlorine taint, that's one advantage of a ventilated water tank.

But that chlorine is needed to keep the water free from hazardous bacteria.

[Phil Ambrose]

But that chlorine is needed to keep the water free from hazardous bacteria.

I'm old and old school and in 14 years living aboard have never had bleach/chlorine near my tank, my wife, family and my self have never had a dicky tummy, in fact the last time I was anywhere near a doctor was about 25 years ago, and that was only for a torn ligament in my back.

Phil

[nb Innisfree]

But that chlorine is needed to keep the water free from hazardous bacteria.

True, but we always boil our tank water before drinking, either tea, coffee or chilled in the fridge. Anyway it's only in the tank for a week before we fill up again.

[ditchcrawler]

I'm old and old school and in 14 years living aboard have never had bleach/chlorine near my tank, my wife, family and my self have never had a dicky tummy, in fact the last time I was anywhere near a doctor was about 25 years ago, and that was only for a torn ligament in my back.

Phil

Its got the Chlorine in when it arrives

True, but we always boil our tank water before drinking, either tea, coffee or chilled in the fridge. Anyway it's only in the tank for a week before we fill up again.

Just turn the tap on and use it

[mango]

I'm old and old school and in 14 years living aboard have never had bleach/chlorine near my tank, my wife, family and my self have never had a dicky tummy, in fact the last time I was anywhere near a doctor was about 25 years ago, and that was only for a torn ligament in my back.

Phil

All mains water supplies are chlorinated, so unless you are filling up from the canal or a well you have had chlorine in your tank.

 

True, but we always boil our tank water before drinking, either tea, coffee or chilled in the fridge. Anyway it's only in the tank for a week before we fill up again.

I do the same but use unboiled water for washing salad, brushing teeth, etc. In an ordinary water tank that is sealed apart from the breather, sufficient chlorine will remain in the water to prevent growth of harmful bugs.

[nb Innisfree]

I do the same but use unboiled water for washing salad, brushing teeth, etc. In an ordinary water tank that is sealed apart from the breather, sufficient chlorine will remain in the water to prevent growth of harmful bugs.

Same here and I agree with the rest but I do notice that water that has been stood for a while loses its chlorine smell, doubt Iif it makes much difference to its content but it is a bit more pleasant to taste