bleach alternative?

[lorihadams]

My husband is clorox obsessed and I hate the stuff! Is there anything that I can use in place of clorox bleach for disinfecting? We just butchered 6 broilers tonight and he made me wipe everything with bleach and now my hands and my sinuses are killing me. He's worried about salmonella and germs when we handle any raw meat.

 

[Wildsky]

soap and water works.

I use vinegar when wiping down counter tops and such, and my knives and such go in the dishwasher.

(we don't process our own, but I do often cut up chicken and meat. no problems so far)

 

[lorihadams]

I told him vinegar would work but he thinks I'm loony.

 

[freemotion]

Salmonella is not such an issue with homeraised meat. If you raise them just like the big producers, yes, but if you raise them more humanely, then the diseases just don't happen in small home flocks the way they do in the big commercial operations. Isn't that one of the reasons we bother?

Overuse of antibacterial agents is one of the reasons for resistant bacteria. It amazed me how my home-raised turkeys smelled (or should I say, didn't smell!) when thawing and cooking. Night and day. I wasn't the least bit worried about the germs that concern me when I handle store-bought poultry. Besides, when you slaughter your own, that you and your family will be eating, you take a lot more care and precautions that underpaid workers just won't take.

Hope this helps! Vinegar and soap and water should be plenty!

 

[Beekissed]

Rubbing alcohol works well. When I worked the American Red Cross, we cleaned all surfaces and tools with alcohol. If it's good enough for blood borne pathogens, it oughta be good enough for the kitchen, I guess!

 

[Wifezilla]

When I clean stuff for home brewing I use B-Brite. Turns out it is basically Oxyclean. I can get a generic Oxyclean at the dollar store.

As for the bleach, it works great but I think hubby has the wrong concentration. One part bleach to 5 parts water is what is used for hospital sanitation. For food prep surfaces, you only need 1 Tbsp per gallon of water. Sounds like hubby is WAY over doing it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hypochlorite

 

[DianeB]

When I clean stuff for home brewing I use B-Brite. Turns out it is basically Oxyclean. I can get a generic Oxyclean at the dollar store.

As for the bleach, it works great but I think hubby has the wrong concentration. One part bleach to 5 parts water is what is used for hospital sanitation. For food prep surfaces, you only need 1 Tbsp per gallon of water. Sounds like hubby is WAY over doing it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hypochlorite

Or you can make your own oxiclean with hydrogen peroxide and washing soda. There is a study that shows spraying vinegar and hydrogen peroxide sequentially eliminates more pathogens than bleach and is much safer. Make sure not to combine them in the same bottle. Spray one wipe away and then spray the other.
Hydrogen peroxide alone is also a bleach alternative.

 

[Wifezilla]

Washing soda is so expensive here I am better off with the generic oxy. $9 for a small bottle in the pool section of Lowes. Total rip.

 

[DianeB]

I get it for $2.50 at WinCo. Peroxide is less than a buck a large bottle at the Dollar Store. It should be less expensive than Oxiclean.

 

[big brown horse]

WZ, what is the generic oxy called?