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Some say never wash wooden perches in bleach because it can't be thoroughly rinsed off. Others say the bleach evaporates. Any thoughts from you would be greatly appreciated.

TIA, Paca

Bleach is an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite. It typically is present to the extent of about 60 grams/litre or about 1M. This material is not stable except as a somewhat dilute solution. As water is removed from a solution of it it gradually undergoes disproportionation reaction to make sodium chloride and sodium chlorate, and some chlorine oxides (which are gases at room temperature.)

However, because it is a strong oxidising agent, it tends to react with a lot of things it contacts before anything else can happen.

Thus the answer is that it cannot stay around because it is too unstable.

Its advantage is, in fact, the fact that it is unstable. By the way, it is extremely dangerous to add ammonia to it, chloramine forms. Furthermore if acid be added nasty mixtures of elemental chlorine and chlorine oxides will form. Sodium hyposulphate or sodium sulphite are commonly used to destroy it.

Most disinfectants are toxic organic compounds like phenol and cresol. hypochlorite is cheap and decomposes completely on removal of the water, though there may be chlorate residues in some cases.

So, the danger bleach poses to our birds is "only" if they breath in the gases while we're scrubbing their things. If we do our scrubbing well away from the birds and let their clean things dry, then there's no toxic residue.

If I'm reading you wrong, please correct me. Many thanks, Robert!

Paca