I refuse to purchase expensive, branded household cleaning products. I have a gallon of bleach and a gallon of dish soap under the sink and that's all I really need.

For general purpose kitchen cleaning, I have taken an old squirty bottle/trigger spray bottle in filled it with the green liquid dish soup, some bleach and than topped it of with water. The resulting mixture is green as one would expect due to the addition of gren coloured detergent.

On inspecting the mixture after a few days, I've found that it has become completely clear; like water. No green at all.

Even if I add more green liquid detergent, it still goes clear after a while. I know that bleach tends to 'bleach out' colours, but I'd be interested to know exactly what's happening at a molecular level. it's a question which has puzzled me for years. Any insight into this phenomenan you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

The green liquid dish soup contains:

5% - 15% Anionic surfactant

5% Non-ionic surfactant, Amphoteric Surfactant

Also contains: Formaldehyde, dimethylol, Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Perfume(?), Butylphenyl Methylpropional, linalool, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene.

 

The bleach contains:

Sodium Hypoclorite (I presume) and both types of surfactant.

 

I doubt there's a nobel prize in understanding why my soap don't stay green But I'd be interested to know what chemical reactions are taking place.

Edited September 25, 201213 yr by tomgwyther

What does bleach do? It bleaches stuff! The dye in your soap was obviously discoloured by the bleach, like how clothes go lighter when immersed in it.

 

As for the chemistry going on, it is rather complicated, and depends on the dyes used, but most bleaching agents (NaClO, H2O2), oxidizes the organic dye. Organic dyes are generally rather large molecules, containing oxidizable functional groups (hydroxyls, aldehydes, thiols/sulfides(maybe). Bleaching agents oxidizes or otherwise reacts with these functional groups (Hypochlorite reacts with certain ketone groups, while H2O2 reacts with ketone groups as well to form peroxides). Once these functional group is altered, the dye is a different chemical than before. At the end, there are no original dye molecules left, just those oxidized dye molecules, which are colourless, so the solution becomes colourless.

What does bleach do? It bleaches stuff! The dye in your soap was obviously discoloured by the bleach, like how clothes go lighter when immersed in it.

 

As for the chemistry going on, it is rather complicated, and depends on the dyes used, but most bleaching agents (NaClO, H2O2), oxidizes the organic dye. Organic dyes are generally rather large molecules, containing oxidizable functional groups (hydroxyls, aldehydes, thiols/sulfides(maybe). Bleaching agents oxidizes or otherwise reacts with these functional groups (Hypochlorite reacts with certain ketone groups, while H2O2 reacts with ketone groups as well to form peroxides). Once these functional group is altered, the dye is a different chemical than before. At the end, there are no original dye molecules left, just those oxidized dye molecules, which are colourless, so the solution becomes colourless.

 

 

Thanks, in short the bleach breaks down the dye molecule into there component parts.