Review of Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface Daily Sanitizing Spray

I have been a licensed daycare provider in the state of Alaska for 25 years. As such, I have to follow many regulations set by the Municipality, one of which deals with how to clean up diapering areas. The state had ONE solution for handling this job … clean the area with fresh bleach water. That’s right, fresh. They claimed that bleach water lost it’s effectiveness in 24 hours, and that new bleach water solution needed to be made up daily. I asked if I could use those chlorine wipes. Their reply was “no”. They told me that once the package was opened and the wipes were exposed to the air, they lost their ability to kill germs.

Imagine my surprise when I was paid an unannounced visit this past year, and one of the things my licensing specilist told me about was Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface Daily Sanitizing Spray. She had a handout on the product, and said this is a germ killer that the Municipality of Anchorage endorses for use in daycares! I couldn’t believe it.

How Is Clorox Anywhere Different From Bleach Water?

I had my doubts and own set of questions about this product, and one was how could this remain stable, and still be effective? According to Clorox, this new product is different from homemade mixtures of bleach and water. The formulation is a special pH-balance that sanitizes, but still remains as gentle as water. And this is what blew me away, the product remains stable for one year!! No more mixing formulas every morning! This is the product for me!

An explanation of how this works from the Clorox website:

It’s a dilute bleach technology that is stabilized by balancing the pH. By itself, diluted bleach is not stable for very long. The key to CloroxÃ?® Anywhere Hard SurfaceâÂ?¢ spray is balancing the pH to a region that delivers good stability. The end product is a ready-to-use, EPA registered sanitizer that is as gentle as water, with no harsh fumes. The concentration of sodium hypochlorite in CloroxÃ?® Anywhere Hard SurfaceâÂ?¢ spray is 0.0095%. This is significantly lower than the sodium hypochlorite level of 6.0% in many common household bleach.

My Experience

The product comes in a spray bottle, with a flip cap covering the spray hole. The spray comes out in a fine, yet strong mist. I spray my countertops daily. Sometimes I wipe them down when I am done, but Clorox says you don’t have to … you can let them air dry. If you do wipe them, wait 2 minutes to let the product “do it’s job”, (which is killing 99.9% of all the germs!), before wiping down. No rinsing is necessary.

It took me a while to get it into my head that this is not a cleaner, it is a germ killer. It does not smell like bleach either, which was a nice surprise (since I hate the odor of chlorine). I had to lean over and smell my counter to see if there was any odor at all. The smell is very, very subtle.

More About Clorox Anywhere

One reason why it is called “anywhere” (in my opinion), is because it is safe to use, well, anywhere. The bottle says that it is “strong enough to kill 99.9% of bacteria, but gentle enough to be used in around kids, pets or food”.

I was afraid that it would leave white spots on my new countertop, but this has not happened. I don’t believe the chlorine content is strong enough to discolor anything, at least that has been my experience. The bottle states that it is color safe. Another big plus is that there are no fumes associated with using this product. I can clean my bathroom without the window and door being wide open.

How I’ve Used Clorox Anywhere

Countertops, highchair trays, garbage cans, lunch boxes, light switches, pet bowls, cutting boards, doorknobs, toilets, toys, changing tables, and keyboards.

In Closing

I know from firsthand experience how stringent daycare licensing rules are. They are in place for a reason, to protect children. In 25 years, this is the first over the counter cleaner that licensing has actually recommended for childcare facilities! That says volumes.

I am not a person who likes chlorine. I won’t live where there is city water because I don’t like chlorine in my drinking water. I rarely use it in my laundry because it kills bacteria in our septic system. BUT, I do feel confident that this is one product that does what it claims – kills germs. And it does it in a gentle and safe way. Safe to use around children and pets. If the State of Alaska licensing says it’s safe, believe me, it’s safe.

Bacteria that Clorox Anywhere kills:
Salmonella choleraesuis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi.

A Note of Caution

Although this is said to be safe around children, the bottle does say to “Keep out of reach of children”. But then so does a tube of toothpaste. Read and follow directions for use.