Bleach FAQs

Surprisingly for a product that's been around for such a long time, there are still a lot of questions about bleach. The following is a collection of answers to the most commonly-asked of those questions.

What is bleach and how does it work?

The word 'bleach' refers to the substance based on chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) that was first discovered to have bleaching properties in 1787. Since then, this word has become used for any chemical with similar whitening properties.

White King's bleach-based range of cleaning products uses this active chemical, sodium hypochlorite - the same chemical that makes swimming pools clean enough to swim in.

How does bleach work?

As it encounters dirt and germs, the sodium hypochlorite in bleach starts decomposing the actual organic molecules that make up stains and odours. But while it's doing this, the bleach is also breaking down into harmless substances.