How Clean is “Clean?”

Hello, my micro peeps! In this week’s blog, we will be talking about an item that I’m sure you have in your home. With COVID, I think now more than ever, households often use some type of disinfectant to reduce the number of germs on a surface. In this post, I specifically want to take a closer look into Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. If we look at the container, the first thing that our eyes might draw attention to is the “kills 99.9% of Viruses & Bacteria” statement. This $11 product has active ingredients, such as N-alkyl, Dimethyl ammonium chloride, and Ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride. I’m sure most of us have no clue what exactly all these ingredients are, but we trust that they are safe and effective. Clorox wipes claim to kill 99.99% of bacteria in 10 seconds, as well as cold and flu viruses. More so, it also specifically targets some organisms that we might have heard of before, like Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Salmonella enterica. When using this product or any disinfectant, there is a misunderstanding on what “disinfecting” and “sanitizing” really mean. I will have to say that it wasn’t until recently that I was able to differentiate both terms. According to Octoclean, sanitizing an object means that you are only reducing the amount of bacteria but not killing it. Whereas disinfecting, means that you are killing or inactivating the virus or bacteria and spending about 4 minutes wiping the surface, as stated by Clorox Wipes. Given these definitions, I would say that I have only really been sanitizing things my whole life. That might not be the best confession, but who really has 4 minutes to just stand there and wipe a surface down? If you do, props to you!

Although there are some people who use products with chemicals they have never heard of, there are some people who are more cautious and more alert of potential toxicity issues. The ingredients in Clorox wipes can cause serious damages when ingested. With this being said, it is important to not clean anything with Clorox wipes if it is going to come in contact with your mouth. In addition to this issue, Clorox wipes can cause irritation of the skin! This is why it’s not recommended to use these wipes when trying to clean a jelly stain off your brand-new white shirt. An alternative to buying disinfectants is honestly to make your own! Making your own antibacterial disinfectants can be easy, according to a women’s blog post called Old House to New Home. In her post, “How to Make Homemade Antibacterial Cleaner,” she claims that mixing 3 cups of water, ½ cup of whit vinegar, and adding 10-15 drops of lavender essential oil will give you a nice disinfectant spray. I would have to say that this homemade sprayer is a low-level disinfectant. Although vinegar is a phenolic compound, a common component in household disinfectants as well as antiseptic products, it is not able to destroy non-enveloped viruses nor endospores. Getting creative at home is fun and all but there are some drawbacks. For example, not knowing exactly the effects of mixing ingredients together and not knowing the effects certain ingredients have on the skin are two important disclaimers when making your own cleaners.

I think if we were to make a comparison on “brand name” and homemade cleaning products, the list of pros and cons would be fairly equal.  I think choosing between the two just comes down to preference.  I personally think there’s nothing wrong with making your own cleaners and there’s also nothing wrong with buying brand name products. I think if you are looking for a less chemical way of disinfecting things, making your own cleaner is the way to go.  However, one should be cautious when experimenting. Whatever disinfectant you might come down to choosing is fine as long as you can take the time to learn more about your product.  It could be interesting. That’s all for this week’s blog guys. Thanks for tuning in. Stay clean!