Laundry Tip: How to safely make your own bleach gel
It’s appropriate that my tip today has to do with cleaning, because not only have I been cleaning clothes, but I’ve been doing some cleaning up of my blog too. Did you notice? It’s taken up a lot of my time in the past week, so I’m sorry that I haven’t been visiting and commenting as much as usual. I’m looking forward to relaxing this weekend with my iPad in my lap and catching up on my emails and seeing what everyone’s been up to.
That said, I was in the laundry room the other day trying to get some stains out of a white sweatshirt, when my bleach gel pen ran out. Unfortunately, the stains were near some sewn-on navy letters, and I was afraid I might accidentally bleach them out if I used regular liquid bleach, but I also didn’t want to drop everything to run to the store.
They say necessity is the mother of invention, so…..after a little bit of Googling and a whole lot of experimenting, I’m happy to say that there is a way you can safely make your own bleach gel.
- ¾ cup water
- 3 Tbsp corn starch
- 4-7 Tbsp household bleach
- Mix water and corn starch together in a small pan. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously until mixture becomes translucent and pudding-like. Let cool. If you need to make it more than a few hours ahead of time, cover the pot with plastic wrap so it won’t dry out. Start adding bleach by the Tbsp, until you have the consistency and strength you desire. Gel will thin a little bit after sitting. Use as you would regular bleach gel.
Just to be sure I wasn’t giving you bad information, I wanted to try it out myself first. I started by bringing 3/4 cup of water and 3 Tbsp corn starch to a boil on the stove, stirring frequently. It didn’t take long before it was translucent and pudding-like.
You’ll need to let this cool before adding the bleach. While I was waiting, I mixed up a bowl of ketchup, barbecue sauce and chocolate syrup.
Then I painted two patches of the “stain stuff” onto an old t-shirt my son had outgrown.
After letting the t-shirt sit for about an hour, I rinsed it out and let it dry. Isn’t it funny how when you actually want something to stain, it requires a lot of effort? I actually painted the stuff on a second time and it still didn’t stain as dark as I wanted it to!
When the shirt was dry, I added 5 or 6 Tbsp of liquid bleach to my cornstarch pudding.
I could have just painted the bleach on the t-shirt, but I used a bulb suction to squirt it into an old glue squeeze bottle instead.
Then for the fun part. I squeezed some out onto each stain.
Waited an hour, then rinsed and dried the t-shirt again. And here are the results. At first glance, it looked like the Clorox bleach pen fared better, but I think that’s just because the stain on that side is a little darker, so it shows up more.
I also tried it out on an old black t-shirt. The homemade stuff is on the left, and the real stuff is on the right.
As far as I’m concerned, it works just as well as the original, don’t you think? I read somewhere that bleach weakens over time, so I’m not sure how long my little experiment will last, but I’ll come back and update this post to let you know when I get around to using it again. As long as it still works, I’m not sure I’ll be buying the name brand stuff again. The savings are huge, because corn starch and liquid bleach cost next to nothing. Not to mention how much you’d save if you needed it for a big project. Or lots of little ones, like these from Diary of a Crafty Chica.
Or this. (Please click to go to their blog if you want to pin any of these images.)
Doesn’t that look like fun?
I’d love to hear from you if you decide to give this stuff a try. Oh, and I’d also love to hear from you if you run into any quirky behavior on my little blog. I still have some issues to work through with the mobile formatting (sorry if you’re trying to read this on a little screen!), and I’m sure there are other things I haven’t come across yet.
Lastly, if you read my post about the Christmas turned Valentine’s wreath, I tweaked the bow so it’s not quite as big as it was. Take a peak and see what it looks like hanging on our pantry door, and let me know what you think!
You can read more laundry room related posts here:
Laundry Room Makeover
DIY Pottery Barn Roman Shade
Pottery Barn Inspired Wall Clock
Built-in Laundry Drying Racks
Thanks for stopping by!
Linking to:
This smart tip will save a ton of $$$! Pure Genius!
Oh my goodness Debbie you are so clever! This is an amazing tip. Thank you so much for sharing this. I can’t wait to make my own batch.
What a great home made laundry recipe! And I love the blog changes. Looks really sharp!
:) Linda
Good Afternoon Debbie,
I love the new look of your blog….very fresh. I really need to do this….maybe after my trip to India.
Thank you for this marvellous tip….who would have thought, water, cornflour and bleach would achieve such wonderful results…….I have the perfect candidate for this….my husband, I’m always amazed at what appears on his tee shirt.
Thank you for a very useful tip. I am going to pop over and visit Crafty Chica as her designs look really interesting.
Have a lovely weekend.
Best Wishes
Daphne
HI I just came here to say that I found your blog on pinterest and I fell in love your DIY tutorial. And I just posted one of your DIY photos on my blog with you blog link !!
I’ll be constantly checking your blog ! You do an amazing work ! Keep it up !
www.universeandyou.com.br
xoxo from Japan
Debbie, You have a new look! I love it! So fresh, well organized and user friendly! Awesome!!
Have a great weekend,
moni
YOu are such a genius !!! I’ve been trying to figure out how not to buy a bleach
pen to do T Shirts, leggings, shirts, skirts, and whatever and there you are.
TY for sharing ! Such a great idea to experiment w/ cornstarch. Sure worked on
your experiment.
I even thought for finer print to use an old [hardly writing] felt water-based pen
[like Flair brand] – open the base cover, take out the felt barrel and rinse it. Then add some bleach-water
[not too much - might come out in a big blob, so experiment] and you have a fine-tip version !
I told my husband, if you want to figure out how to work/solve something using what’s already there without buying anything new, just ask a crafter !
I don’t know how I missed this post. What a great idea. I will try this. I make all my own laundry detergent (and also make it for all my kids now)…so this sounds like a great companion. Your new blog design looks great…good job! xo Diana
Wow Debbie! You are so ingenious! This is something really want to do, I love your tutorial!
I love the idea of using it to make Batik on clothes!!
I have been doing bleach pen art on t-shirts and trying to figure out my own recipe for the gel, what a great idea never thought of using corn starch. Will be whipping up a batch next time I get crafty. Thanks
Do you use the gel immediately after you make it? I just tried to make my own and it does have a gel consistency if you use it immediately, but I went back after an hour or so and the glue bottle was hot with a liquid consistency. Thanks for any help!
Hi Dara, thanks for stopping by and letting us know about your results. I did use it right after I mixed it up, which is when the pictures above were taken. After it sit for a little bit, it was not quite as thick, but I wouldn’t say it was a liquid consistency. Also, it worries me a little that your bottle was hot. Hmm…not sure why that would be. Mine never did change temperature after the initial cooling down from the boiling water and corn starch. I just went and checked the bottle again, because I still have some in there, and it’s pretty much the same consistency it was before. Could there possibly have been some glue residual left in the bottle? I’m not sure I would use that. Might be worth rinsing it all out really well and starting over. Please let us know of your results. Thanks!
Debbie
Funny, because I just bought cornstarch to make cookies. Now I know what else I can make with it!
Thanks for this awesome tip! It never occurred to me I could make my own bleach pen. This recipe will come in handy, because I rarely want to spend the money on the ones from the store, but it’s such a convenient way to treat stains!
This is great! I’ve been researching how to pull this off myself and found that any homemade bleach gel solution won’t be stable for very long, since natural thickeners are broken down by bleach fairly quickly (which only added to my excitement in coming across your recipe!). It is perfect for my own DIY/ fabric bleaching purposes (especially since buying bleach pens just to play with gets expensive) thanks for posting! :)
Hi!
Thank you so much for crafting this for us! I used to live in the US and now live in Germany. Although I brought more than a dozen double packs with me they are almost gone… Great find of today was your post on Pinterest.
All the best for you and yours!
Thank you SO much! I was just about to go buy a bleach pen for cleaning the grout in my shower, when I came across this post via Pinterest! Yay saving money! Oh, and I’m on my phone and had no trouble reading :) but maybe you’ve made adjustments since you wrote this.
Debbie, you are a genious! In Europe you cannot find bleach pens anywhere and I see those wonderful proyects in pinterest and my little crafty heart breaks. But now :)))))))) no trouser, t-shirt, skirt….is save at home any more :) Thanks a lot :)
Hi Debbie… Your bleach gel recipe is awesome. Can’t wait to make some! Also, your new site is great and it’s so easy to navigate, even on my Ipad. Have a great day and thanks for all your wonderful ideas.
THIS I am definitely going to try! I don’t think we use bleach pens a lot in the UK – at lease, none of my friends have ever mentioned them. But here’s a great way to try it out and get crafty. Thank you!
This is fabulous, and I will have to try this! Don’t have any empty plastic bottles, which is a bummer.
I wonder… could you add dye to the water/cornstarch to make a dye pen? You wouldn’t be able to store it, since mixed dye loses potency, but I wonder if it would work… (Note to anyone else who thinks to try it – mixing some dyes in containers you will also use for food is not recommended. I’ve mixed fiber-reactive dyes like Tulip and Dylon in Pyrex, never metal pots and pans. Read any warnings on the packaging and proceed at your own risk. Can you tell my husband is a lawyer?)
I think this is an awesome idea. I just want to let you know that bleach breaks down if it is not in a non-see through bottle. I do daycare and this is one thing we learned right away. Makes sense since all bleach bottles aren’t clear.
Hi Jodie, thanks so much for letting us know. I had been wondering, because when I went back to use it again, it was no longer effective. I’ll try it again in a dark bottle. Do you think storing it in a cool place would help too? Just a thought.
Debbie
I don’t think that will matter as the bottles aren’t on a cool shelf in the stores.
Bleach starts to break down immediately in water. Which is why sanitation requirements say licensed childcare centers have to make a new bleach water solution every 24 hours.
I had just been thinking about mixing bleach & baking soda to try & make a bleach gel, (of course I would have done some research before mixing random things), when I came across this on Pinterest. I’m going to try it for some rust stains in the tub. You could probably just wrap your glue bottle in some decorative duct tape to keep the bleach from breaking down, rather than having to use a less-convenient container.
I like the bleach pen idea, thanks.
So…if your bleach pen ran out, and you decided to make your own, how did you have a bleach pen against which to compare on the shirt? ;-)
Hi Nancy! I had to chuckle when I read your comment! That’s a fair question. I guess I should have said I started to run out, because obviously there was still some left. I was pretty sure there wasn’t going to be enough to finish the sweatshirt though, which is why I started to panic and look for alternatives. Thanks for keeping me honest! ;)
Debbie
This is great! I don’t think you’ll need to worry about the “whiting Power” of bleach diminishing….it’s the “sanitizing power” that will diminish. At least that’s what I learned about years ago, so you should never make a “bleach solution” to sanitize with until you plan on using it because with in 24 hours It’ll no longer kill those germs and such…but whiten it will always do (I think)….
Hi Ashley! I did try to use my gel bleach about 2 weeks after making it, and it no longer worked as a whitening agent, unfortunately. Some have suggested that I need to put it in a dark container, so I made a new batch yesterday and covered the old glue bottle with black duct tape. We’ll see if it makes a difference. I hadn’t thought about the sanitizing power diminishing…that probably happens even in a dark container, right? Good to know. Thanks again for stopping by!
Debbie
oh bummer! I do want to hear the out come because I do like the bleach pen for all those tight spots and pok-a-dot dresses and such where you can’t throw it in the bleach wash. I’ll cross my fingers!
Now when you use this to make designs on colored shirts….don’t you have to spray with vinegar to prevent it from spreading while being washed…
Hi Valerie, I’m not sure on this one. I haven’t used it yet to make designs. When I’ve used it to remove stains, I just rinsed the garment out really well in the sink before throwing it in the wash. Hopefully someone who knows will jump in and let us know. :)
Debbie
Please do not use vinegar or any acids with bleach! The mix creates chlorine gas that is fatal! The warnings on any bottle of bleach mention this. If you want to stop bleaching, plunge your garment in peroxide. You can dissolve powdered oxi-clean in water and then proceed with soaking.
Hi Joi, thanks so much for letting the readers know that. Bleach can be very dangerous if you start mixing it with other things. I don’t know that I mentioned that at all, so your warning is much appreciated. I’ve heard that after you bleach something, you should neutralize the bleach by adding some hydrogen peroxide to the wash water. Here’s a link to Miss Mustard Seed where she discusses it: http://missmustardseed.com/2010/07/more-on-drop-cloths/
Thank you for sharing your creativity.
Thanks a lot!
I came across your website on Pinterest and started wondering if this concept could be used with color safe bleach?
Hi Melanie, I don’t know if it would work the same. Maybe someone who has tried it will jump in and let us know.
I have never used the bleach pens because I was always afraid that the bleach might spread while washing and fade some of the colors around it. Have you had any issues with this? I have a two big boys, 16 & 11, and a 1 year old little lady and of course they all make messes on their clothes and I am constantly trying to find a fix for the white sections of multi-colored clothing.
Thanks!
Why does it have to cool before you add the bleach?
Hi Alexa, that’s a great question. I let mine cool mostly because the smell of the steam rising from the cornstarch and bleach mixture was about more than I could take. Not that it’s noxious or anything, just the smell bothered me. That, and I thought maybe the heat would break down the bleach faster, although that’s just a guess on my part. It may be just fine to mix it up while it’s still hot, if the smell doesn’t bother you.
Debbie
Just found your blog and I love it! It’s full of really good stuff. Liked you on FB! I have a link up on Wed if you ever want to join in, would love to have you :) http://www.familyhomeandlife.com/
Thank you, Thank you, and Thank you for saving me money and it works better then stores…:)
Hi! I made my husband a shirt that says “this guy loves his wife” using wax paper and straight bleach. It looked amazing and I was so excited! …But the bleach degraded the fabric and all the spots I had bleached began tearing. I know that this recipe is diluted but I really don’t want to start all over and get the same result. Have you had anything like that happen with this recipe?
Hi Kathryn, I haven’t had that happen, but I have heard that you need to neutralize the bleach, or it will continue to break down the fabric. I found an article about it here. Of the three methods they mention, 3% hydrogen peroxide is the one most widely available for home use. You’ll need to wash the bleached fabric in a solution of peroxide and water. As mentioned above (and in the article) do not, under any circumstances, use vinegar!
Debbie
Thanks so much for this helpful post. I just ran out of bleach sticks yesterday and was going to buy some, now I don’t have to.
Hi Debbie,
Great idea for DIY. Here is a little of the chemistry to explain what happened with your gel:
NaOCl (chlorine bleach) reacts with water to release ions–in the process, it loses its ability to bleach. Thus any solution that you make with it will only be effective for a short time, regardless of how you store it, because your gel solution is water-based. If you want to make the solution as convenient as possible, I’d recommend just making a batch of the cornstarch & water, and combining it with the bleach in small quantities as needed. Heat speeds up the reaction, so if you heat the solution, the bleach will work more strongly.
Also, after the clothing has been through one wash cycle, it is a good idea to rinse it again with a weak acid like vinegar to neutralize the NaOH (sodium hydroxide) that is left behind–commercial bleach also contains NaOH to extend the shelf life of the bleach, but if it’s left in your clothes, it will continue to break down the fibers.
See this Wikipedia article for further reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hypochlorite
: )
My mixture didn’t go transparent. It just got thicker and it white. I wonder why that happened!!
Hi Nadia, it sounds like maybe you used more cornstarch than I did. Were you able to bleach with it?
Debbie
Just made a batch and waiting to see how it works on a fabric scrap….cant wait to start making some fancy patterns.