Bleach & water as a disinfectant?

If you mix bleach and water in a spray bottle that is somewhat(I assume mostly) airtight does the solution lose its potency as a disinfectant? How long can you keep it in the spray bottle and still expect it to kill bacteria and viruses? I have been told 36 hours and it will no longer work but if it is airtight why would mixing bleach and water compromise its power to clean and sanitize over a short period of time. Bleach in the bottle does not lose its strength as a cleaner and it is made up of 98% water therefore...This theory of lose of power to disinfect was presented as truth at a state sponsored workshop for pre-school/daycare providers. Any thoughts? Any chemical engineers out there? Food, health and safety people?

The thing is, spray bottles aren't airtight. If they were, you wouldn't be able to spray anything with them. And it is the air that reduces the power of the bleach. Straight bleach that has not been diluted and is kept in a closed container does deteriorate slightly over time, but retains most of its potency, as long as the container remains closed. The reason for that is that when some of the bleach molecules combine with the air molecules, they use up all the available 'hooks' that allow them to link together. So the rest of the bleach is unaffected and only the surface layer (one molecule thick) will be weakened.
Does that make sense?

You should remake it every couple of days, as the spray bottle allows air to oxidize the bleach solution and weaken it. Report It

No, it doesn't.
Diluted household bleach (about 5%) is a very effective sterilizer. But you must leave the solution on for al least 20 minutes. No good just washing it off straight away.

it is very good an it does not lose it power i have used in a spray bottles for 20 years if you can smell bleach it is bleach

If you put bleach in it it will always haave bleach in it, Make sure you wash the bottle thoroughly when your done becuase people die from swallowing bleach