Novel colour additive for bleach disinfectant wipes reduces corrosive damage on stainless steel.

Bleach disinfectant wipes are corrosive to hospital surfaces and equipment. This study measured the effect of two widely used bleach wipes, with and without Highlight® colour additive, on stainless steel to quantify the rate of corrosion and to determine the effect of Highlight® on reducing surface damage caused by bleach wipes. The two bleach wipes alone caused severe corrosion [>5 mils per year (mpy), where 1 mil = 0.001 inch], while the addition of Highlight® reduced the rate of corrosion significantly (<2 mpy) and prevented discolouration of the metal. These results indicate that Highlight® reduces the deleterious corrosive effects of bleach wipes, thus improving their viability for cleaning healthcare surfaces.