CAUTION!!! There seems to be some earlier confusion between bleach and Clorox Cleanup Cleaner with Bleach.
They are not the same. The cleaner has surficants and detergents and must be used non-diluted for it to disinfect. That residue you feel is detergents and you might not want that on a cutting board. The clorox site makes no mention either way about cutting boards or food prep items.
Straight bleach should be diluted as per FAQ:
http://www.clorox.com/products/usage.php?prod_id=clb
General Disinfecting
Use the following method to disinfect hard, nonporous surfaces at home:
- Create bleach solution using ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water.
- Wash, wipe or rinse items/area with water, then apply solution.
- Let stand 5 minutes.
- Rinse thoroughly and air dry.
FAQ for cleanup product:
http://www.clorox.com/products/faqs.php?prod_id=ccu
Hmm, this fellow has confused the issue even more...
There is a huge difference between Sanitizing, and Disinfecting!
When you sanitize the goal is to kill a sufficient amount of pathogens and bacterial to reduce the risk of food borne illness - Contact time with your sanitizing solution is critical! Just as it takes time for a fdew shots of whisky to start entering your system, it takes a predetermined amount of time for any sanitizer to kill all of the bugs that may be present.
It also takes time and uses up active ingriediants to work it's way through any soils that may be present. That is why it is absolutely neccessary to have the surface fully cleaned with soap and rinsed with water before applying a sanitizing solution.
Bleach is a good sanitizer but a horrible cleaner. It has no surfactants to help break down fats, protiens etc...
In commercial products when you see "Sanitizer" on its own, it always means that it has no surfactants and therfore the surface must be cleaned first (2 step process). Most of the time is intended to be left to air dry and optionally rinsed after.
Disinfecting means to kill all pathogens and bacteria (think hopital operating room) takes much longer (contact time on surface being disinfected) and is at a much higher concentration of active chemical.
3/4 of a cup of bleach per gallon is NOT a food safe sanitizing solution! That is a disinfecting solution! If you let that air dry on a cutting board with no rinse, theres a chance someone will be getting sick from the chemical
Start reading the labels on your disinfecting/sanitizing products and you'll see that (I love this one) A product like Clorox disinfecting wipes (no clorine) to use properly, the surface must remain VISIBLY wet for 4 min. How??!! That thing is nearly dry when it comes out of the pkg! Yet the commercial looks good doesn't it? THey had you thinking you were killing eveything just by smearing it around on the counter... Lysol spray, batroom cleaners, you name it they all have 3 - 10 min kill claims on disinfecting.
