Disinfectant Wipes. What and Where to Use Them?

First, it is important to discuss the differences in disinfectant wipes. If one is talking about the Clorox and Lysol wipes in the grocery store; these are the gentlest form of disinfectant wipes on the market. These wipes will help reduce the possibility of infection, transferred of germs from person to person or surface to person. Their list of ingredients however is rather frightening.

In the health care profession every hospital, physician office, home health care agencies, nursing homes, all the way to private residences that take in elderly and charge Medicare to take care of them, there must be on the premises, in prominent view, a book called MSDS (Minimum Safety Data Sheets.)

The MSDS book must contain the item itself plus the ingredients of that item that is used to clean anything, from a desktop, to a blood spill. Along with the MSDS book of course, are the antidotes, what to do in case of a spillage, how to contain and prevent harmful fumes or sprays; in general, what to do if someone thinks, well if one wipe is good then four will be grand! Unfortunately, the average household disinfectant wipe user rarely looks at the list of ingredients, much less look up their meaning.

For the average user, the ingredients are gobbledeegoop, mishmash and senseless. Here are the ingredients of Clorox Disinfectant Wipes from an eHow article are as follows:

“The ingredients listed in Clorox wipes fresh scent version, beginning with the highest amount, are water, substrate, isopropyl alcohol, and alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride. Other ingredients include alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride, alkyl polyglucoside, disodium EDTA, fragrance, preservative, and propylene glycol propyl ether.”

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/about_5468191_chemicals-clorox-wipes.html#ixzz1SPy04Ecos:

Remember now, this is just for the ones you use at home and the list goes from most to least. This means the first and most ingredients in the disinfectant wipe by Clorox is….

Right; water. Most people use that as part of their cleaning regimen already! The rest are rather nasty toxins that will kill germs if but only if the surface it is used on is non-porous and the wet ingredient is left on the surface for a specific amount of time. The time necessary to terminate the germs is listed in fine print on the labels of the disinfectant wipes as well as the bacterium the wipes are able to destroy.

The disinfectant wipes as a whole are actually listed as stages from low to intermediate agents. If the ingredients listed include the suffix “cide” or “cidal” this is a way to determine the wipes effectiveness on killing bacterium such as staphylococcus, pseudomonas, tuberculosis, salmonella and gram positive and negative bacterium. The more alcohol and ammonium chloride in the disinfectant wipes the more bacterium will be destroyed and in less time.

However, laypersons (people not employed in the health care industry) really have no interest in the amount of alcohol or ammonium chloride that is in the disinfectant wipes they buy from the grocery store. All the general public wants or needs to know is on what can it be used?

The general low-grade disinfectant wipe from the grocery store can be used on all non-porous surfaces. If you make bread by hand on your counter top and it is a solid surface you will be all right but do not knead your bread right after using the second wipe on the counter-top of course.

The disinfectant wipe can be used on plastic surfaces as well without harm but again, if you are using wipes to clean the baby walker or baby toys give it a long time to dry before you put the baby back in it! The most used plastic items wipes are used on are in the office or place in the home with the computer and phones.

The disinfectant can be used on metal objects such as fireplace screens, lamp bases, washing machines, doorknobs, faucets and on and on.

The wipes are easily portable and can be placed in a zip lock bag and used in many places outside of the home such as on the fabric surface of a movie theatre chair, seat on the bus, outdoor picnic tables and of course the shopping carts in grocery stores. It is a wonderful item to see just at the door of a grocery store, unless it is empty or has been left open and the wipes are all dried and cannot be used.

Of all places to use a wipe, the best place of all is in the bathroom. Everything in the bathroom needs to be thoroughly and regularly cleaned with other product, and then the disinfectant wipes can easily be used in between the cleanings.

How many people does it take to change a lght bulb? No, that is not the question!

How many wipes should be used?

One you say? You always just use one The television commercials show the pretty lady with a smile barely straining to clean any surfaces and she gaily moves from one area of the house to the other, all with just the one wipe! Why can't we all do that?

Well, probably cause of mean ole Nurse Kratchet! Dadgumit! Where does she come from and why does she not stay where that is? I mean, I ask you, really...Really? (this is my friend Sandy's favorite saying and I love to use it now/horrible copycat that I am but when I use it it makes me smile cause I can see my redheaded friend getting all intense!)

Sorry, off subject again! Focus Bethard! Focus! :)

Most iportantly, studies have shown that it takes two disinfectant wipes to effectively destroy the bacterium. Also, do not forget the resting time, or the time the wet ingredient has to sit on the surface for it to actually be effective! You must not use one wipe and go all ver thiking you are fie. All you end up doing is spreading the bacteria all over the place!

Do you have teengers? Staphylcoccus bacteria lives on any surface for up to three weeks! Along with that, did you know that a simple pimple is a staph infection? So, do you really want to take a chance with just the one wipe and risk your teenagers face on Prom night? Or any night as that increases the risk of continual outbreaks as we all know how often teenagers really wash their hands!