The household staple you use to keep your whites white may also help children with eczema.

Researchers from Northwestern University said in a news release that diluted bleach bath can ease the red, itchy skin that can get so cracked it becomes an opening for infections.

Eczema affects 17 percent of school-age children, they said.

Dr. Amy Paller said that the severity of outbreaks was five times greater in children who were given a placebo than those who took the bleach baths.

The study followed 31 patients ages 6 months to 17 years old who also had a staph infection that was also treated with antibiotics for 14 days. Half took baths with half a cup of bleach in the water, and the others took normal baths. They took the baths for three months.

The research team said it saw such rapid improvement in the kids taking the real bleach baths that they terminated the study early because they wanted the children getting the placebo to get the same relief.

"The eczema kept getting better and better with the bleach baths and these baths prevented it from flaring again, which is an ongoing problem for these kids," Paller said. "We presume the bleach has antibacterial properties and decreased the number of bacteria on the skin, which is one of the drivers of flares."

Paller said that because of the small amount of bleach, there were not reports of problems with the smell. She also said that people with eczema on their face could tolerate closing their eyes and dunking their heads under water.

The study will be published in the journal Pediatrics April 27.