This document discusses the use of hypochlorite (hypo) or bleach as a disinfectant for water and other purposes. It provides guidelines for using hypo to sanitize food contact surfaces, disinfect wells, clean homes, and process food. The document includes tables with recommended amounts of hypo (typically 5.25% household bleach) per volume of water to achieve different chlorine concentrations for various applications. It also provides information on other forms of hypo like HTH calcium hypochlorite granules.

1. Chlorine Disinfection
1. Chlorine in water – Chlorine in drinking water is at
3.4 to 5 mg/l to assure adequate disinfection to
outlaying rural lines.
3. Construction of new storage tank and feed station
requires only a about 2 ppm chlorine.
5. Residual chlorine is at 1.2 ppm at source, where at
faucet it will be 0.2 to 0.4 ppm. During epidemic
condition, residual chlorine at 1.6 to 1.8 ppm is
applied.
7. The proposed federal drinking water standard for
chlorine is 4 parts per million (ppm). Many city water
supplies are treated with chlorine to reduce the
possible spread of bacterial disease. The system
operators are required to maintain a detectable level
of chlorine in the piping system

2. Hypo in Water Disinfection
1. Add 16 drops of bleach per gallon of water, stir, and
let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a
slight bleach odor. If it doesn't, then add additional 8
drops and let stand another 15 minutes. If it still
does not smell of chlorine, discard it and find another
source of water.
3. EPA recommends the use of 2 drops of 5% household
bleach per litre of water. If the treated water doesn't
smell of bleach, 2 more drops are to be added.
4. Typical is 16 drops to a gallon of water, ½ tsp for 3 to
5 gallons
6. 1 ml = 20 drops, tsp = 5 ml

3. Hypo in Water Disinfection
1. Commercial bleach production is 12 to 14% available
chlorine to avoid salting out difficulties. Household
bleach is usually 5.25 % available chlorine and
laundry solutions is at 1%
• Sanitizing food contact utensils - The recommended
chlorine concentration is between 50 ppm and 100
ppm (parts per million) for sanitizing food contact
surfaces like pans or clean utensils. This is about 1
teaspoon of regular bleach per gallon of water. The
maximum concentration that should ever be used is
200 ppm, which is about one tablespoon of regular
chlorine bleach per gallon of water.
3. And remember that equipment or articles sanitized
with bleach solution must be allowed to drain
adequately before contact with food.

4. Summary - Hypo References
Sanitizing food contact utensils
Table 1 – Amount of chlorine bleach per gallon of water
for a given chlorine concentration
Amount hypo (5.25%) per gallon Concentration (ppm)
water
1 teaspoon (5 ml) 65
1 tablespoon (15ml) 200
1 fluid once (30ml) 400
¼ Cup (60 ml) 800
½ Cup (120ml) 1600
2/3 Cup (260ml) 2200
3/4 Cup (180 ml) 2400
1 Cup (240 ml) 3200

5. Summary - Hypo References
1. From Laundry Essentials –
• Household liquid bleach, identified by the words “sodium
hypochlorite” in the ingredient listing is the only bleach that
disinfects. It is also the most effective bleach for stain
removal and whitening. This is the bleach of choice for
whites and colorfast garments.
• RECOMMENDED LIQUID BLEACH AMOUNTS PER WASHLOAD
Extra large washing machine - 1 1/2 cups
Standard large washing machine - 1 cup
Medium washing machine - 3/4 cup
Small washing machine - 1/2 cup
Hand washing (2 gallon sudsy water) - 1/8 cup
one (1) cup = approx 240 ml

6. Summary - Hypo References
From Laundry Essentials (Continue) –
• PRESOAK PROCEDURE
– Use 1/4 cup household liquid bleach per gallon of
water.
– Submerge entire garment and soak for 5 minutes.
– Rinse and wash according to care label.
• Color-Safe Bleach is, quite simply, a bleach that is safe
to use on washable, colored clothes. These bleaches,
available in powder and liquids, remove stains and
help keep colors bright. The powdered bleaches also
have enzymes to break up tough protein stains, which
is why they make an excellent presoak. A color-safe
bleach is not a diluted bleach. The gentle leaching
action in liquids is from hydrogen peroxide. Powders
commonly use sodium perborate. These color-safe
bleaches also have optical brighteners. This ingredient
is like an invisible layer on fabrics. It reflects light,
making colors appear brighter and whites whiter.

7. Summary - Hypo References
1. Home Cleaning
– Disinfectants - Commercial disinfectants or
sanitisers, ¼ cup of laundry bleach*, with 4
litres of water
– Mildew removers - Commercial mildew removers,
Washing soda, tri-sodium phosphate or ¼ cup of
laundry bleach* with 4 litres of water
– Apply cleaner and give it time to work before you
mop or sponge it up.

8. Summary - Hypo References
1. Wells Disinfection
– The water in the well is dosed to a concentration
between 50 mg/L and 200 mg/L of free chlorine
and leave undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours
– If the test indicates the concentration of free
chlorine residual in the well-water is between 50
mg/L and 200 mg/L, you must do the following -
Pump the water out of the well until the
concentration of free chlorine residual in well
water is less than 1 mg/l.
Repeat well dosing cycle the 2nd time.
– Chlorine Solution Table - Well Diameter Amount of
bleach per 25 feet of well depth
4 inch - 1 cup
5 inch - 1½ cups
6 inch - 2 cups
Example: A 4 -inch diameter well 150 feet deep
would need 6 cups of bleach to treat the well.

9. Summary - Hypo References
1. Food processing applications
– Food processing in-plant chlorination systems
typically produce water for processing with
residual available chlorine levels of no more than
0.5 ppm. For container cooling or general washing,
residual available chlorine levels of 2 to 7 ppm are
commonly used. Typical municipal water systems
produce potable water with a residual available
chlorine level of 0.25 to 2 ppm.

10. Summary - Hypo References
1. HTH – Calcium Hypochlorite
• As a General Rule 3/4 lb. (1 1/2 cups) of
granular calcium hypochlorite mixed in 100
gallons of water will make a 500 ppm solution.
• Follow the directions on the packages for
disinfecting water. If the directions are not
available, a rule of thumb is to use one tablet
for each quart of water to be disinfected.

11. Summary - Hypo References