What is Effective in Killing The Coronavirus?
As we enter the one year mark since the Coronavirus began sweeping the world, personal protective equipment, sanitizers, and disinfectant have been eliminated from shelves. Parents, adults, students, and kids alike have been retaught the proper ways to disinfect and protect themselves from illness. There are steps involved, like wearing a mask and washing your hands frequently throughout the day that can help someone diminish their chances of contracting the virus. But as we are all aware, you cannot one hundred percent eliminate the probability of contracting the Coronavirus. That being said, making sure your protective and sanitizing materials are efficient is essential.
Sanitizers
There are just about a thousand variations of hand sanitizer available on the market today. You can get anything from a gallon of sanitizer to pocket-sized margarita scented sanitizer. But are all sanitizers created equally powerful? Not exactly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC), sixty to ninety-five percent alcohol content is recommended for use in health care settings. Therefore, that range is the best option for routine use. Hand washing is still the best way to kill germs, but the CDC claims that sanitizer is sufficient as long as hands are not visibly soiled.
Alcohol Percentage
Sixty to ninety-five percent alcohol content is a very large range, and you may be wondering why a percentage over fifty matters. The average percentage of alcohol in popular hand sanitizing products is around 65% for both ethyl and isopropyl alcohols. Initially, you may be questioning why typical commercial sanitizer does not contain more alcohol if the CDC recommends up to ninety-five percent. Studies on germs and alcohol interaction have shown that more is not always more successful. Doctor and medical director Sachin Nagrani stated that ninety-nine percent alcohol evaporates very quickly. This doesn't allow enough time to penetrate the bacterial cell wall, which is what permits the alcohol to kill viruses and bacteria. When the alcohol is diluted with water, it allows the it more time to efficiently break down the bacterias barrier. 70% alcohol content is a great rule of thumb when it comes to hand sanitizers.. The balances between dilution and penetration is just enough to kill the bacteria completely without evaporating too quickly.
Alcohol Effectiveness on COVID
Studies reviewed by the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy have proven that ethanol and isopropyl alcohol is effective in killing the coronavirus. The World Health Organization also recommends the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers for killing the virus. This study tested virus activity on hands after 30 seconds of rubbing in alcohol-based sanitizer. Researchers found that the coronavirus was reduced to background levels after using the alcohol based sanitizer for 30 seconds. Both 30% diluted ethanol and isopropyl alcohol reduced the traces of coronavirus on hands. This proves that 70% alcohol-based sanitizer efficiently diminishes traces of COVID-19 on the skin.
What You Want To Buy
Sanitizers like Purell, Ecolab, and Burt's Bees contain 62% alcohol. While this is effective, a higher alcohol percentage is more desirable. Companies such as Equate, Ulta Cosmetics, and Bath & Body Works have 65-68% alcohol in their sanitizers. Sanitizers by Tazza contain 62% alcohol in their 1 oz. travel bottles and 70% alcohol in all of their other sanitizers, hitting the exact mark recommended by doctors . Tazza sanitizers come in foam, gel, and spray in multiple sizes. Keeping an eye on the alcohol percentage in sanitizers is more important than it may seem. Making sure your sanitizer is as efficient as possible in killing germs, including COVID-19 is key to staying healthy.
