Bleach in Holy Water

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I can not say I like this recent development. There are times I can smell the bleach on my hands throughout mass. I am surprised that I have not ruined cloths the bleach has been so strong in some fonts.

But my question is this - is the addition of bleach make it something other than Holy Water?
 
it is much more likely that your city adds more chlorine to city water in the summer to deal with algae and other problems, and that your parish refreshes the holy water fonts regularly so you are smelling the “new” water that has just been filled and blessed.

for your home fonts, and if you bring a bottle of holy water home for use, a good idea is to let it stand uncapped for a day to dissipate the chlorine smell and add about half a teaspoon of salt to keep it fresh
 
I would agree, but the smell changed this year around the begging of flue season. The first time it happened I wondered if they had just cleaned the fountain (it was probably a Friday morning). But since then it has been apparent pretty much every mass at that church and to a lesser extent to the 2 other churches I regularly attend.

It was also about the same time they put out the hand sanitizer in the narthex at that church (which made the main font into such a mess they had to almost immediately drain and clean it. Afterward they moved the sanitizer to the side and people stopped using it and the fonts remained clean (no soap/oil foam on top)

fwiw, city uses chloramine, so do not think they would have increased the chlorine level (as choramine is much more stable in water and dissipates much slower). (I discovered that change when I lost every fish in my aquarium a few years back)
 
I can’t imagine a church actually putting bleach in the holy water! I agree with the others that it may, indeed, be the tap water. I live in Chicago and there are times when the water has an incredibly strong odor! Among my many plants, I have orchids, and I used to let the tap water stand for several days before I use it on them. (I feel sorry for the person that lost aquarium fish.) I then started buying distilled water from the pharmacy and finally invested in a still. I also have several indoor fountains and the other stuff in the water would eventually form what is known as “boiler scale” (which is formed of calcium compounds in the water). The distilled water completely alleviates this problem.

As to your specific question, I would suggest you speak with the sacristan or a parish priest to try to find out what is going on. Hope this helps!

Pax tecum!
 
Gosh, I hope that they are not adding bleach.

BTW, in the eastern churches we drink holy water (but not, of course, after 500 hands have dipped into it 😃 )
 
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