# Bleach Stains?



## Fuzzy Shaq (25 Aug 2022)

Hi, hope everyone is well. I've got a issue regarding my clothes developing bleach like stains on my clothing? I notice it especially the day after a weekly water change. Hoping some chemists could help me know the cause.
I'm using Seachem Prime, Liquid carbon daily (Easy Carbo), dry EI ferts (potassium phosphate, magnesium sulphate, potassium chloride and micro mix) and injecting Co2.
Any help will be greatly appreciated
Thanks


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## Hufsa (25 Aug 2022)

The offending substance would only need to be strong enough to lightly dissolve the dye used in your clothes is my guess.
Im not a chemist but I would be suspecting the Liquid Carbon (glutaraldehyde) or Seachem Prime (something similar to Sodium thiosulphate + a few additives (EDTA?), before I would suspect the ferts.
We could tag the half blood prince, @X3NiTH who is our resident chemist / wizard


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## Fuzzy Shaq (25 Aug 2022)

Thanks @Hufsa All my nice summer clothes are ruined 🙈.  Now I know not to use new clothes when carrying out a water change


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## dw1305 (25 Aug 2022)

Hi all, 


Hufsa said:


> Im not a chemist but I would be suspecting the Liquid Carbon (glutaraldehyde)


I'm pretty sure it is the glutaraldehyde, it is <"an oxidising agent">. "Prime" wouldn't be an oxidiser, so I don't think that is the likely cause. 

cheers Darrel


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## Sarpijk (25 Aug 2022)

Hi, I have stained a pair of trousers with Seachem Prime. I am pretty sure it was Prime as I do not use any Excel. The stains look like bleach stains.


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## Fuzzy Shaq (25 Aug 2022)

Thanks @dw1305 for letting me know. I'll quit dosing the glutaraldehyde Darrel. Hopefully no more bleach stains 😂


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## sparkyweasel (25 Aug 2022)

You could test each of the suspect substances on an undamaged area of one of the ruined garments.


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## John q (25 Aug 2022)

sparkyweasel said:


> You could test each of the suspect substances on an undamaged area of one of the ruined garments.


Lol... Sometimes you come home knackered from a 12hr shift and think 🤔 "hey, why don't folk just run a quick test." So hey presto.

Let the scientific experiment begin.
Materials used: Cotton from an old pair of underpants, a syringe, seachem prime and easy carbo.
Method: add two drops of each liquid to trusty undercrackers, sit back and see what happens.

Let the contestants enter the ring.









Test material.




Let's add a few drops.










And hang up to dry.



Glutaraldehyde is the top spot, prime lower down.
Will report back with the results. 😀


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## Wookii (25 Aug 2022)

John q said:


> old pair of underpants



Congratulations John, you’re the first member I’ve seen post pictures of their undercrackers with various stains on them! I applaud you sir! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😂


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## plantnoobdude (25 Aug 2022)

This is the planted aquarium content I come to ukaps for. 😍 hats off to ya @John q


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## KirstyF (25 Aug 2022)

Explaining why I’m sitting here giggling out loud about a chap sharing his underpants has been interesting……..but lots of points for being a good sport John!! 😂😂


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## The grumpy one (26 Aug 2022)

Now I am sitting here with baited breath awaiting the results.
I winder if the underpants will grow?


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## John q (26 Aug 2022)

Haha cheers guys. 

So here's the results for bleaching/staining ability. 
Seachem prime: nil points.
Glutaraldehyde: quatre points.




This photo was taken 3hrs later, piece of cloth looks exactly the same this morning. 

I can't tell where the prime was added, its had zero effect. The glutaraldehyde hasn't bleached the fabric, but it has stained it ever so slightly, almost looks like a grease stain.

I also took the liberty of testing my macro solution.



This left a noticeable white ring which I assume is the salts left behind after evaporation. Also worth noting the op was dosing dry salts, so this probably wouldn't apply. 




So what have we learned?  
I've no idea what bleached the op's clothes.


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## Hufsa (26 Aug 2022)




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## X3NiTH (26 Aug 2022)

Oxidisers bleach clothing as Darrel has already mentioned, some fabrics may be more affected than others for instance synthetics like polyester, nylon etc or whether organic like cotton, hemp, etc, some dyes are more fast on certain fabrics. You also have to take into consideration if there is any detergent or fabric softener residues remaining on clothing being able to interact with compounds you are using and causing bleaching. There’s too many variables to pin down exactly what’s happening.


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## Hufsa (26 Aug 2022)

X3NiTH said:


> Oxidisers bleach clothing as Darrel has already mentioned, some fabrics may be more affected than others for instance synthetics like polyester, nylon etc or whether organic like cotton, hemp, etc, some dyes are more fast on certain fabrics. You also have to take into consideration if there is any detergent or fabric softener residues remaining on clothing being able to interact with compounds you are using and causing bleaching. There’s too many variables to pin down exactly what’s happening.


Yess, I think we need more underpants of various types to really get to the bottom of this.
Also, did they use the same liquid carbon?
For science!


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## MirandaB (26 Aug 2022)

I have to disagree with this result lol I don't use glute in any form just Seachem Prime and I end up with bleached clothes if I'm not careful


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## Hufsa (26 Aug 2022)

MirandaB said:


> I have to disagree with this result lol I don't use glute in any form just Seachem Prime and I end up with bleached clothes if I'm not careful


I never thought I would say this but you got any old knickers laying around @MirandaB ? 😂

_Its for science I promise_


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## Hufsa (26 Aug 2022)

Before I get reported to UKAPS HR, im going to put "my money where my mouth is" and add to the official experiment.
Stay tuned


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## Wookii (26 Aug 2022)

Hufsa said:


> I never thought I would say this but you got any old knickers laying around @MirandaB ? 😂
> 
> _Its for science I promise_



I feel we’re slipping into dangerous territory now - I physically held back from suggesting @John q now submits his special ‘weekend’ nylon underwear to the test, given @X3NiTH’s post - for some reason I can’t get the image of Alan Partridge’s dream sequence out of my head! 🙈


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## MirandaB (26 Aug 2022)

In the interest of science,put the undercrackers through the wash @John q as the bleached marks never appear immediately on my clothes


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## MirandaB (26 Aug 2022)

The UKAPS Undercracker Challenge 
I vote this is added to the UKAPS Official contests!


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## John q (26 Aug 2022)

MirandaB said:


> In the interest of science,put the undercrackers through the wash @John q as the bleached marks never appear immediately on my clothes


Will do @MirandaB 

To be honest I was going to caveat my test by saying these test results we're obtained on these particular underpants, other users results may vary. 😁


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## Hufsa (26 Aug 2022)

Will let it sit overnight, put in the wash tomorrow and report back 👍


What has my life come to...


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## John q (26 Aug 2022)

MirandaB said:


> The UKAPS Undercracker Challenge


Sounds similar to the daz doorstep  challenge 🤔


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## KirstyF (26 Aug 2022)

Hufsa said:


> View attachment 193348
> Will let it sit overnight, put in the wash tomorrow and report back 👍
> 
> 
> What has my life come to...



I know it can get cold out there @Hufsa , I’m assuming this is from a whole pair of long Johns!

And, before anyone from Florida pulls out a manikini,…enough already! 😂


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## Wookii (26 Aug 2022)

KirstyF said:


> I know it can get cold out there @Hufsa , I’m assuming this is from a whole pair of long Johns!



I’ve learnt from experience not to comment on the size of a woman’s pants! 🤐


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## John q (26 Aug 2022)

Probably get locked up for this... but I've just mixed up a solution of 1.09g of seachem safe in 100ml of boiled and cooled water, so probably 5x the strength of prime.  Going to test this and see what happens , also put a bit on a sponge to see if it reacts with cellulose.












😇

Edit: my maths is way out, will correct tomorrow.
In the meantime let's try it with 5g of safe.
Extra edit... 5g in 100ml of water is about 25% stronger than prime. Sorry for the confusion.


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## papa_c (26 Aug 2022)

Just love this discussion 🤣 ...  Read it a couple and it makes me laugh so much...i think it is worthy of becoming a sticky post!


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## Hufsa (26 Aug 2022)

He Is a Man of Focus, Commitment and Sheer Effing Will 😂🥇


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## plantnoobdude (26 Aug 2022)

KirstyF said:


> manikini,


If I see one of these when I log back in tomorrow…. I won’t be returning to ukaps😂


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## Hufsa (26 Aug 2022)

plantnoobdude said:


> If I see one of these when I log back in tomorrow…. I won’t be returning to ukaps😂


Dont worry, the surface area of such a thing is obviously unsuitable for proper spacing between test areas
We're not playing here after all!


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## plantnoobdude (26 Aug 2022)

Hufsa said:


> Dont worry, the surface area of such a thing is obviously unsuitable for proper spacing between test areas
> We're not playing here after all!


Proper science, yes.


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## Yugang (26 Aug 2022)

We need the mods to step in, we have also younger members here. First @Hanuman reporting the  CO2 profile in his bedroom, and now this  (    )


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## Hanuman (27 Aug 2022)

I think for the sake of science this should also be tested on woman’s underware. Ok I’m out.


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## KirstyF (27 Aug 2022)

You mean something like this……..obviously!


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## The Miniaturist (27 Aug 2022)

I've been following this thread, it's absolutely hilarious! Goodness knows what the op thinks regarding their original question....it's got completely out of hand!!
I now have an indelible image of all male fish keepers dancing round in their undercrackers (or a manikini if they're daring) at water change time & all female fish keepers pirouetting in their bloomers! 😂🤣


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## Hanuman (27 Aug 2022)

KirstyF said:


> You mean something like this……..obviously!
> 
> View attachment 193369


Not at all. Something slightly from our "era". Also, they are white. No bleaching possible.😬


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## The Miniaturist (27 Aug 2022)

Ahem, I'd like to point out, these are currently available on Amazon should one wish to purchase!


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## John q (27 Aug 2022)

The Miniaturist said:


> I now have an indelible image of all male fish keepers dancing round in their undercrackers





The Miniaturist said:


> it's got completely out of hand!!



I suspect it can deteriorate a little more.




So test no2 (seachem safe) has dried out and hasn't left any stains, will do as @MirandaB  suggests and put it through the laundry, hopefully in the interest of science it will come out with a tie-dye pattern.


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## Hufsa (27 Aug 2022)

So to bring this thread somewhat down to earth again, I believe @Fuzzy Shaq most likely "bleached" his clothes with Seachem Prime 

I checked the samples this morning and I dont think I need to put it through the wash (for those inquiring minds who absolutely must know, they were old leggings that needed retirement )

The Prime has had a pretty visible effect.

Please excuse the brown fabric at the top, I tried to do a swatch on a more "obviously synthetic" fabric, but that turned out to be highly water repellant so it didnt really work out 
The carbo product I used is a bottle of "Happy-Carbo" which expires in 2023, so its possible that it has lost a bit of its bite and could have made a bigger effect. 
Im not sure im looking to go out to buy another bottle just _for science_ though 😄






So depending on your fabric choice Seachem Prime can definitely do some damage.


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## Fuzzy Shaq (27 Aug 2022)

What have I started 😂 Thanks for all the tests 🤣


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## Fuzzy Shaq (27 Aug 2022)

Thought I'd carry out a test as well. After 20 minutes Fritz Water Conditioner has turned my t shirt purple, which explains some of my purple stains.
Will report back after a day to see if there are more stains


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## John q (27 Aug 2022)

Lol seems doing fish tank maintenance in black clothing is a no no


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## The grumpy one (27 Aug 2022)

I think that we can safely say this tread has got to the bottom of the issue.

For all the newbies to aquarium keeping
"Do not do any water changes in your underwear, It will ruin them".

Dress appropriately:


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## Hanuman (27 Aug 2022)

Yugang said:


> We need the mods to step in, we have also younger members here. First @Hanuman reporting the  CO2 profile in his bedroom, and now this  (    )


I assure you. That Co2 level is 100% with no rooms sports. 😇


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## Hufsa (27 Aug 2022)

The grumpy one said:


> For all the newbies to aquarium keeping
> "Do not do any water changes in your underwear, It will ruin them".
> 
> Dress appropriately


I totally disagree. If anything, this thread has shown that the only _*proven*_ way to stay safe during maintenance is to do it in purple underwear


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## The grumpy one (27 Aug 2022)

Hufsa said:


> I totally disagree. If anything, this thread has shown that the only _*proven*_ way to stay safe during maintenance is to do it in purple underwear


Now I have an image in my head of "John q" running around in purple underwear. Who is going to pay for the therapy?


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## Yugang (28 Aug 2022)

Hanuman said:


> I assure you. That Co2 level is 100% with no rooms sports. 😇


I happen to be passionate about modelling CO2 in a tank, calculating plant CO2 uptake over time. I was hoping to get a raw data set from you, to confirm your innocence


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## The grumpy one (30 Aug 2022)

This was the most viewed thread last week.
What does that say about us all?


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## KirstyF (30 Aug 2022)

The grumpy one said:


> This was the most viewed thread last week.
> What does that say about us all?



A potentially unhealthy obsession with planted tanks and purple pants!!? 

Multiple pants syndrome could become an actual thing! 😂😂


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