I have only been part of this group for a few months but thought I would share on this topic. I do small scale tissue culture for Lilium and I used bleach for many years as a disinfectant. Several years ago, I read about the use of dichlor as a substitute for bleach. After some trials I completely switched over to this alternative and recommend it as a better alternative for plant disinfecting. Dichlor has many synonyms - NaDCC, SDIC, sodium dichloroisocyanurate, sodium troclosene, & sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione - all these names can lead to confusion. Dichlor is a stabilized form of chlorine. It is used in pools and hot tubs as a source of chlorine and also can be used to sterilize drinking water. The product I buy is a granular powder and is labeled "99% Sodium Dichloro-S-Triazinetrione Dihydrate" (56% Free Available Chlorine) on the label. 5 grams per liter of dichlor is used as an equivalent to 10% bleach. It is more stable than bleach as a solution (doesn't degrade as fast) and the pH is very close to neutral. One of the corrosive effects of bleach is due to the high pH. The chlorine in dichlor is also more effective at sanitizing because of the neutral pH - so it is less corrosive to plants but more effective at sanitizing. I can soak plants tissues for longer in dichlor with less destruction to the tissues as compared to bleach. Regards, Patrick Brown Midland, MI Zone 6a -----Original Message----- From: pbs <pbs-bounces@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> On Behalf Of Tim Eck via pbs Sent: Thursday, September 7, 2023 5:39 PM To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> Cc: Tim Eck <timeck17582@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [pbs] clorox (and KMnO4) "Just remember that once you open the bottle, any unused solution will have a limited shelf life." I have to agree with this. When I was sterilizing my magnolia cuttings, I noticed my clorox didn't smell or look greenish yellow so I bought new. (Long ago, I made the choice between functional elastic or bright white underwear so my Clorox had been around for a while). Check it out before you use it. The laundry use is purely a learned obsession but cutting sterilization is a must. I wondered if they put detergent in the Clorox because it felt soapy but I realized it would be saponifying the triglycerides in my skin because the NaClO would be as caustic as NaOH since hypochlorous acid is so weak. I suspect the outer cells of nearly everything are destroyed by NaClO but us multicellular organisms are usually clad with disposable protective cells On Thu, Sep 7, 2023 at 1:34 PM Robert Lauf via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > If I were going to sterilize cuttings, I'd go with diluted clorox, > but for more sensitive things, esp. embryo rescue, dipping them in > hydrogen peroxide is usually sufficient to avoid contaminating the > agar with mold while not killing the embryo. It has the further > advantage that any solution carried over into the flask decomposes > fairly fast. Typically the 3% antiseptic solution right out of the > bottle from your favorite store is what is called for. Just remember > that once you open the bottle, any unused solution will have a limited shelf life. > Bob Zone 7 suffocating in the ragweed > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > PBS Forum latest: > https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…