I never use bleach; I can't stand the smell of it and it's SO bad for the environment - why would I want it around me or my animals? When I clean the tank stuff, I'll use any number of things but I always soak everything in a bucket for 20-30 minutes. In the past, I've used Dawn dish soap, I've used natural salt water, eco-friendly laundry detergent, etc. It all depends on what's handy at the time. If it's still dirty when I take it out, then I soak it again for a few minutes and scrub it. If there's any sort of smell to it, it's not clean.