[Hac-announce] You’re Cleaning All Wrong--A science-based guide for fellow germaphobes.--New York Times

[Manny Sholem Ratafia]

I just learned from this article that I didn't understand how to 
disinfect nearly as well as I thought. This is timely info, as many of 
us are now interacting more with others and even inviting people into 
our homes. It's good to be social, but safer is better.--Manny


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/well/clean-disinfect-home-germs.html?algo=clicks_decay_96&block=5&campaign_id=142&emc=edit_fory_20220512&fellback=true&imp_id=475920041&instance_id=61205&nl=for-you&nlid=46841805&pool=pool%2Ffa8f6616-7b25-42bd-bdbf-7abdec20107e&rank=1&regi_id=46841805&req_id=995087680&segment_id=92091&surface=for-you-email-rotating-health&user_id=4aa61a7a85f469ed918ee787f817ccb4&variant=0_best_algo 



    Well


  You’re Cleaning All Wrong

A science-based guide for fellow germaphobes.

By Melinda Wenner Moyer <https://www.nytimes.com/by/melinda-wenner-moyer>

May 5, 2022

One of my first memories is the pungent smell of rubbing alcohol. Every 
evening, my mother sprayed the kitchen sink and counters with isopropyl 
alcohol to disinfect them. And no wonder: She’d cared for me for months 
when I caught a nasty salmonella infection as a toddler. Bacteria were 
her nemesis. “I became a real nut about it,” she admitted recently. “I 
really became a germaphobe.”

It’s no surprise, then, that I grew up to be a germaphobe too. I keep a 
dizzying array of antimicrobial wipes in the basement, have at least 
seven bottles of hand sanitizer stashed around my house and car, and 
keep an emergency bag tucked away in my closet stuffed with bleach wipes 
and other strong disinfecting paraphernalia should the dreaded stomach 
bug strike our household. (I should add: There’s a difference between 
cleaning and tidying. I’m a zealot with the former, but lazy with the 
latter.)

Today, because of the pandemic, I’m not alone in my germ paranoia. In a 
2021 survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, 42 percent of respondents said they 
now identified as germaphobes 
<https://swns-research.medium.com/when-hand-washing-isnt-enough-the-covid-19-hygiene-habits-we-can-t-and-can-quit-d40313471c03>. 
But our fears aren’t always well-founded, I learned this week when I 
interviewed chemists and cleaning experts. It turns out, many popular 
cleaning practices aren’t effective, and some are just unnecessary.


      *Focus on the bad bugs.*

I’m often guilty of thinking that viruses and bacteria are unequivocally 
“bad,” but many bacteria do good things — like those in our gut that 
help us digest food and build our immunity. “Microbes are absolutely 
everywhere,” said Erica Hartmann, an environmental engineer at 
Northwestern University. “And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” 
Research suggests 
<http://fulltext.calis.edu.cn/nature/nri/10/12/nri2871.pdf> that 
children who grow up on farms, surrounded by microbes, have a lower risk 
of developing asthma and allergies than other kids.

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, let me explain the scientific 
difference between cleaning and disinfecting. Cleaning removes things — 
dirt, crumbs, germs, dog hair — from surfaces. Disinfecting, on the 
other hand, /kills/ things — typically viruses and bacteria. Cleaning is 
something we may want to do regularly, Dr. Hartmann said, but we need to 
worry about killing (disinfecting) only dangerous, disease-causing 
germs. And we can often predict where they’ll be.

For instance, you probably don’t need to disinfect your kitchen counters 
every day, unless you’ve handled raw meat. You also don’t need to 
obsessively disinfect your bathroom unless someone in your home has an 
infection that spreads through stools, like salmonella or norovirus.

For standard messes — like when my 11-year-old drips maple syrup all 
over the kitchen table at breakfast — you don’t need to reach for a 
disinfectant wipe when soap and water will remove the sticky residue 
just fine. (Soap is also great for removing germs from your hands, but 
you need to build a good lather and wash for 20 seconds 
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/world/how-to-wash-your-hands-coronavirus.html>.)

Why not disinfect everything anyway, you ask? There are long-term risks 
associated with the overuse of certain disinfectants, such as quaternary 
ammonium compounds. These “quats,” as they’re called, are found in many 
popular household cleaning products, including sprays and wipes made by 
Lysol and Clorox. These cleaners may increase the risk of antibiotic 
resistance, Dr. Hartmann said. Plus — although experts I spoke to 
disagreed on just how much to worry about this — disinfectants like 
bleach, ammonia and quats release fumes that can be harmful, said Pawel 
Misztal, a chemist who studies disinfectants at the University of Texas 
at Austin. So use disinfectants when you need to disinfect, but not when 
you want to just clean.


      *Choose and use disinfectants wisely.*

When you do have reason to worry about bad germs, heck yes, kill them 
all with a disinfectant, but keep in mind that some chemicals will work 
better than others. Plain soap and water can kill germs when lathered, 
but it’s not going to be as foolproof as other, stronger options if 
you’re trying to eliminate microbes on surfaces, said Bill Wuest, a 
chemist at Emory University. Far more effective are disinfectants like 
bleach, isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, ethanol, hydrogen peroxide and 
quat-based cleaners.

If you’re using a disinfectant that releases fumes, such as bleach or 
ammonia, ventilate the area first by opening doors or windows, or wear a 
disposable face mask and throw it away afterward, Dr. Misztal suggested.

And I hate to tell you, but you’re probably disinfecting all wrong. Many 
people spray or spread disinfectants on a surface and then immediately 
wipe the cleaner off with a paper towel or sponge, Dr. Wuest said, but 
this removes the chemical before it has had a chance to disinfect.

If you’re using a store-bought product, the disinfection time should be 
on the label. Lysol disinfectant spray, for instance, needs to sit on a 
surface for three minutes 
<https://www.lysol.com/products/disinfectant-spray/lysol-disinfectant-spray>. 
Recommendations for bleach solutions vary between letting it sit for one 
<https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/disinfecting-bleach.html> to 
10 minutes 
<https://www.northeastern.edu/ehs/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Bleach-Fact-Sheet-Draft.ejc2_.pdf>. 
Alcohol-based solutions don’t need to be wiped at all, since they 
eventually evaporate, said Cassandra Quave, an ethnobotanist at Emory 
University. And some botanical disinfectants may need to be left on for 
a long time, even 15 or 30 minutes, Dr. Hartmann said.

Wondering about other disinfectant options? Here’s some more information:

·You can make disinfectants at home to save money. For a disinfecting 
bleach solution 
<https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/documents/316485-c_reopeningamerica_guidance_4.19_6pm.pdf>, 
mix one-third cup of household bleach with one gallon of water. (Note 
that bleach breaks down rapidly in water, so you’ll need to make a new 
solution <https://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20060213/bleach.html> 
each day. And never mix bleach with chemicals other than water.)

·Sprays containing 70 percent ethanol or isopropyl alcohol and 30 
percent water are also effective, Dr. Quave said. She emphasized that 
you should mix alcohol with water because otherwise it will evaporate 
before it has a chance to disinfect.

·You can also make or buy plant-based disinfectants, some of which are 
less toxic and more environmentally friendly than conventional options. 
But note that botanical disinfectants may not work as quickly or 
thoroughly as bleach, quats or alcohol. Household vinegar, for instance, 
is a popular botanical disinfectant, but it’s not nearly as effective at 
killing germs as bleach or alcohol. One study found, for instance, that 
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, was not inactivated 
<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9026400/> even after 
soaking in a potent vinegar solution for five minutes. The Environmental 
Protection Agency maintains a list of disinfectants 
<https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-labels/dfe-certified-disinfectants> that 
meet certain environmental and health safety standards.

·If you want to know which disinfectants are effective against which 
pathogens, check out this E.P.A. webpage 
<https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/selected-epa-registered-disinfectants>. 
Note, for instance, that norovirus, which causes stomach bugs, is an 
especially hardy virus, and that bleach solutions are most effective 
against them, Dr. Hartmann said.

The bottom line: We germaphobes can still delight in killing germs, but 
perhaps not /all/ of them. When I need to clean a spill, I’ll use soap 
and water or a gentle cleaning spray, not a disinfectant. But after 
handling raw meat, or when a family member is ill, I’ll reach for the 
stronger stuff to clean contaminated surfaces, and I’ll make sure to let 
it sit long enough to work, with the windows open. And while I wait, 
maybe I’ll have the chance to tidy my house, too.

Yeah, right.


-- 
"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it
in a way that will lead others to join you."
― Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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