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You Asked:
How does chlorine eliminate the bacteria in water? — Arun, Kumbakonam, India
Marshall Answered:
The actual mechanism that bleach uses to kill bacteria was discovered in 2008, as described in this article. In essence, the hypochlorite in bleach has the same kind of effect on proteins in bacteria that heat does. It causes the proteins to unravel and clump together, so they no longer function as bacteria cells need them to function. You could therefore think of bleach as “liquid heat”. See also: How does bleach work?
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