Aim To evaluate the release of sodium hypochlorite from three different commercial brands of heat-polymerized acrylic resin immersed in water and submitted to mechanical or chemical polishing after disinfection with hypochlorite at different concentrations. Material and methods Fifty-four disk-shaped specimens (n = 18) were made for each resin (Lucitone 550, QC-20, and Classico) and assigned to two groups according to the type of polishing. Specimens were divided in three sub-groups in relation to sodium hypochlorite concentration (1%, 2.5%, and 5.25%), and the groups were immersed for 10-min periods in each sodium hypochlorite concentration. The electrochemical method used for detecting the release of sodium hypochlorite in each specimen was the cyclic voltammetry. Results In the specimens of Clássico resin polished mechanically and immersed in 5.25% sodium hypochlorite, as well as Lucitone and QC-20 resins immersed in 2.5%, the amounts of disinfectant solution released in the four 15-min water exchanges were higher than the four 60-min exchanges. Conclusion There were differences in hypochlorite release from the three commercial brands of denture-base acrylic resins subjected to mechanical polishing. However, no hypochlorite release from the same resins was observed when they were subjected to chemical polishing.