Does anyone use bleach to clean their powerheads?

[salty joe]

While I've not seen any problem with it myself, I expect the issue (if real) has to do with uncharged acetic acid having some ability to penetrate some plastics. Mineral acids such as muriatic will never have any significant uncharged forms around, and so won't do anything except interact with the surface. Inorganic ions such as H+ and Cl- just wont penetrate the very hydrophobic interior of plastics.

I've used dilute muriatic acid for a long time on 2L pop bottles I use for phytoplankton and like Muriatic acid.

I have a bunch of plastic wedges that are part of a tile leveling system and they got covered in mortar so I soaked them in a fairly strong muriatic acid solution and it started melting the wedges! I don't know what kind of plastic.

 

[TrottingReef]

I use bleach to sterilize or clean anything that is not damaged by the bleach. If it would get damaged from bleach I use citric acid. People are a lot more worried about bleach than needs to. It breaks down inert as it dries. Once completly dry all the bleach is gone.

 

[jason2459]

I like buying in bulk.

40lbs

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I've used dilute muriatic acid for a long time on 2L pop bottles I use for phytoplankton and like Muriatic acid.

I have a bunch of plastic wedges that are part of a tile leveling system and they got covered in mortar so I soaked them in a fairly strong muriatic acid solution and it started melting the wedges! I don't know what kind of plastic.

There are some plastics that are unstable toward very high or low pH. Polycarbonate, for example, cannot take high pH for extended periods.