Bleaching powder: A white solid that can be regarded as a mixture of calcium chlorate(I) (calcium hypochlorite), calcium chloride, and calcium hydroxide. It is prepared on a large scale by passing a current of chlorine through a tilted cylinder down which is passed calcium hydroxide. Bleaching powder has been used for bleaching paper pulps and fabrics and for sterilizing water. Its bleaching power arises from the formation, in the presence of air containing carbon dioxide, of the oxidizing agent chloric(I) acid (hypochlorous acid, HClO):
Ca(ClO)₂.Ca(OH)₂.CaCl₂ + 2CO₂ → 2CaCO₃ + CaCl₂ + 2HClO