If you use disinfecting wipes on the regular, you’re far from alone.
“Not only do they help keep us healthy, they do so conveniently and effectively.”
Here’s the dirty truth about our beloved disinfecting wipes.
What’s in a disinfecting wipe?
It’s hard to argue against the practicality of disinfecting wipes.
Others like them because they are quick and functional.
Many like disinfecting wipes, in particular, because of their ability to killgerms.
Although we may lump them together in one category, there is a big difference between cleaning and disinfecting.
Disinfecting wipes can’t replace soap and water
The cleaning product industry has been steadily growing.
By 2016, the revenue from manufacturing these products was projected toexceed $61 billionin the U.S.
It may go without saying that consumers have alotof cleaning supplies from which to choose.
It’s not going to be those handy dandy disinfecting wipes either.
Because, after all, they are mainly for disinfecting.
This is true even of contaminated surfaces thatshouldbe disinfected.
You should first go in with you guessed it soap and water, according to Davis.
However, it is quite literally harmful to do that.
Obviously, this negates the entire reason for using a disinfecting wipe in the first place.
After cleaning the area with soap and water, you’ll need to allow the area to dry.
Then, you should take a peek at the instructions on the back of the wipes container.
This means you may have to disinfect an area for as long as “four to ten minutes.”
Unfortunately, those 15-second swishes could be doing more harm than good.
Let surface dry.'"
Did you catch that?
You have to useenoughwipes for the area to stay wet.
Often times, that means you’re going to need more than one measly wipe.
It’s time to start following the instructions.
Before moving on to a new area, throw the wipe away and reach for a new one.
Could disinfecting wipes lead to superbugs?
Alright, so now you know therightway to use disinfecting wipes.
That carries with it its own problems.
Not all bacteria is bad, but disinfecting wipes work to indiscriminately kill bacteria as a whole: badandgood.
All hope is not lost, though.
He continued, saying, “You want to check that you store it at room temperature.
Sometimes we keep our wipes in our car, we keep some all over the place.
As the name implies, it’s a fungus that develops in between the folds of the wipes.
Imagine spreading that around all over your steering wheel!Eek.
Yes, Lysol’s wipes are safe enough to use on your children’s toys.
Depending on the toy, larger plastic toys can also be disinfected in the same manner.
Disinfecting wipes won’t do much good there.
Of course, not everyone heeds the warning.
This is a serious safety issue in my client’s opinion.”
Whileencouraging kids to cleanis a great idea, disinfecting wipes are not fit for the task.
However, they’re not the only product you should use because, remember, they’re mademostlyfor disinfecting.
This is true of other name-brand disinfecting wipes, like Clorox disinfecting wipes.
As such, don’t expect Clorox wipes to work like bleach.
As much as we wish disinfecting wipes were the holy grail of cleaning, they are unfortunately not.
If the scent is weaker than you remember, you should toss them out.
Instead, buy a new container that you know is going to have that near-100 percent guarantee.
Still, disinfecting wipes don’t exactly expire, per se.
“The same is true of Clorox products.
However, Clorox assigns an even shorter shelf-life one year to their wipes.
On their site,Cloroxstates that their wipes “should not be used for personal cleansing.”
They are not to be used as baby wipes, either.
Furthermore, disinfecting wipes can cause eye irritation as is indicated on the label.
Likewise, theEnvironmental Working Groupcautions consumers not to use the product on their skin.
They also shouldn’t be used to disinfect unpainted wood because it, too, is absorbent.
Clorox disinfecting wipes should also not be used on copper, aluminum, or polished surfaces.
Before you disinfect a surface, it pays to check the label to see what can be safely sanitized.
Of course, you don’thaveto use these wipes at all.
Plus, they’re safe for your hands.
When used correctly, disinfecting wipes can also kill E. coli, salmonella, and strep.
The researchers concluded the abstract by urging facilities to consider supplying these easy-to-use wipes.
Whetheryouchoose to use disinfecting wipes in your home, though, is entirely up to you.
Are disinfecting wipes any match for a pandemic?
Thus, the need for disinfecting.
TheCDCfurther advises both frequent cleaninganddisinfecting to prevent against the coronavirus.
Surfaces that are visibly dirty should be first cleaned with soap and water andthendisinfected.
However, in order for disinfecting wipes to be useful against COVID-19, they must be used correctly.
Those different formulas mean they may take more or less time than another product to thoroughly disinfect.
As long as you allow disinfecting wipes time to do their thing, though, they’re really great.
