Walker, Scott wrote:
>
> My understanding about bleach is that the chlorine in it will evaporate
> from the solution after a few hours and thus make the bleach ineffective
> after a day or so as a bleaching agent. Thats why they keep on adding
> chlorine to swimming pools. If you leave a shell in a bucket for a year,
> after a day or so it is just sitting in bleach minus chlorine the
> bleaching agent.
>
> Scott Walker
 
 
Scott,
 
Don't count on that bleach just disappearing over night.  If the
container is covered it will last a long time.  Also it lasts longer if
kept out of the sun and calm - i.e. the water isn't stirred.  But I have
kept shells in a closed container with bleach and it was still very
active after three months.  This was when I added more shells and you
could see the bubbles rising immediately from the new guys.  Even the
chlorine in a pool will last if under those conditions.  When we close a
pool here for the winter (usually October) we hit it pretty good with
chlorine (about double the normal amount) and then put the cover over the
pool.  This is a large, black plastic sheet.  When the pool is opened in
May there is still just a bit of chlorine left.
 
So bottom line, I believe you can soak shells for extended periods in
chlorine if you decide that is what it will take.
 
Tom Eichhorst