Vacuum Line Cleansers and Bleach

There are still a number of vacuum line cleansers on the market and numerous offices that choose to use bleach or line cleaners that contain chlorinating compounds. Although bleach is cheap and an effective disinfectant when used properly it is not advisable for use in dental vacuum lines. Bleach and chlorinated line cleaners can and do dissolve mercury from the dental amalgam particles in your vacuum line. Dissolved mercury is not captured by amalgam separators.

Check your vacuum line cleaners list of ingredients and discontinue use if it contains bleach, hypochlorites, chlorinated cleansers, or is advertised as chlorinated. The following link is to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and lists some but not all vacuum line cleansers that are safe to use with amalgam separators.
http://sfwater.org/Files/FactSheets/Non%20bleach%20vacuum%20line%20cleanser%20alternatives.pdf