Whenever I see people purchasing anti-bacterial soaps or cleaners, I just want to shake them by the shoulders and scream hysterically, "YOU'RE CREATING A MONSTER RACE OF UNSTOPPABLE FLESH-EATING BACTERIA! STOP THE MADNESS!!!"
Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but not that far off.
In fact, no evidence suggests that use of antibacterial soap containing 0.2% triclosan provides a benefit over plain old soap in reducing bacterial counts and rate of infectious symptoms according to scientific studies. Just keep your hands clean using regular soap and warm/hot water, rinsing for at least two-minutes. And for bathroom and kitchen surfaces, just add white vinegar to diluted household bleach to create a one-two mixture strong enough to kill bacteria, mold and viruses*.
actually it's been shown that regular old dishwashing liquid kills more germs than the antibacterial stuff. this study was given to the hosptal where my mom works.
there are loads of nice smelling dishwashing liquid now. i just put mine in a pretty depenser & use lotion.
you can mix vinegar and bleach safely? i didnt know, ive always used them in separate applications.
and not to be a bugger, but is bleach all of the sudden considered a natural cleaning agent?
mg: Yes, exactly the point made by the quoted study :)
Dishwashing soap is a little rough on the skin with regular use, so I'd recommend people use plain hand soap as mentioned above. I buy liquid handsoap in bulk and just refill the fancy Method brand dispensers I've had for awhile now.
jane,
Vinegar and bleach can play together. Ammonia and bleach can't, as they release chlorine gas.
Bleach may be natural (my chem 101 fails me), but it is not non-toxic and isn't enviro-friendly. But it isn't all bad because it kills microbes without contributing to antibiotic resistance the way that anti-bacterial soaps/cleaners do.
the bleach thing: there are some things that just don't die without bleach and, there's no reason to use it full strength. You can kill tons of bacteria with a minute amount of bleach and lots of water. I use all organic cleaning products but keep a small container of bleach for "those times" when nothing seems to do it. Moderation is key here.
As for anti-bacterial soaps, actually, rubbing your hands together and creating heat for a period of time kills bacteria. So you just really need hand soap. I think its interesting that in public places, people sometimes go crazy scrubbing their hands and then they touch filthy door knobs. Weird.
I think frequency of washing hands is almost more important that how you do it.
In the lab where I work we use 10% bleach: it kills everything
Two minutes?! If I rinsed my hands for two minutes every time, I would have no skin left. And imagine the water consumption! A little common sense would do here. Unless we are preparing to perform invasive surgery...
Supposedly, you should wash your hands for as long as it takes to sing the full verse of the Happy Birthday song....hmmmm...if nothing else, it would put you in a good mood I guess.
Bleach is RAD. OK, maybe not rad, but its still one of those old school household chemicals that still pretty invaluable, even in today's age of "eco-friendly" products.
It was invented by a French chemist in the late 1700s. Its a salt of hypochlorous acid, or NaClO. Basically lye (2NaO) meets chlorine (Cl2) Interestingly, household bleach and pool chlorination forms of NaClO are stabilized with a lot of sodium hydroxide, AKA lye as part of the manufacturing process. This is why bleach "feels" slippery - the lye deffats and sapponifies (turns to soap) the skin oils on your fingers.
Household bleach is only 3-6% NaClO. One part bleach to four parts water is what you should use for household disinfecting purposes. Just like the hospitals do. Bleach is a very effective disinfectant when it comes to bacteria and even some viruses. Just make sure you wipe down the surfaces afterwards as bleach is corrosive and well corrode metal surfaces over time. Hospitals often follow disinfecting with bleach with an ethanol (AKA grain alcohol) wipe down. (Its a second round of disinfecting, its cleans off the bleach from the metal and it evaporates quickly.)
NaClO is also commonly used to chlorinate our drinking water to make it safe to drink. Any backcountry hiker knows that a few drops of bleach will sterilize their drinking water in a pinch.
So don't be afraid of your bleach. It does a far better job of disinfecting your kitchen and bathroom surfaces than those anti-bacterial products, let alone those eco-friendly products which won't kill shit. Its cheap and easily available. And assuming you aren't making cocktails with it, perfectly safe.
can i use a diluted bleach spritz on my black granite countertops? anything i shouldn't use a diluted bleach on to clean for fear of damaging the surface? thanks -- i'm new to this 'cleaning thing'.
Vinegar kills bacteria/germs/mold - I have read that before and use it often to clean. I just did a quick search and added a quote at the bottom of my post.
I am also a fan of bleach and essential oils. Peroxide too.
I feel covered cleaning with bleach, white vinegar, dr. bronner's (use it for you & your house) and bar keeper's friend cleanser for really tough needs... Sometimes I will use ammonia, baking soda (can use with vinegar!), salt and/or essential oils. Vinegar and bleach (separately!) makes your house smell so fresh and clean! Sanitary and inexpensive. You can use lemons too.
lot's of recipes on-line
Sometimes - very rarely! I have bought commercial cleanesr's, but I see no real reason to have a ton of crap hiding under my sink when I can have one or 2 things I can use for a variety of uses. But if you do buy a commercial product - I think method grapefruit smells really yummy.
But as far as I know - DO NOT mix Vinegar and bleach - even fumes mixing can be toxic. It's ammonia that can be safely mixed with vinegar.
from: http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=2601&pst=63247&archival=
We have discussed using a 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water solution for cleaning, and I just saw this in the Daily Action...
Vinegar Kills Bacteria, Mold and Germs
Adapted from the "Care2 Ask Annie" newsletter.
Vinegar is a mainstay of the old folk recipes for cleaning, and with good reason. The vim of the vinegar is that it kills bacteria, mold, and germs.
Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—such as you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can't claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial. Even the CBS news show 48 Hours had a special last December with Heloise reporting on tests from The Good Housekeeping Institute that showed this.
Just like antibiotics, common disinfectants found in sponges and household sprays may contribute to drug resistant bacteria, according to researchers of drug resistance at Tufts New England Medical Center. Furthermore, research at the Government Accounting Office shows that many commercial disinfectants are ineffective to begin with, just like antibiotics.
Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board, and in your bathroom, and use them for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting board before going to bed at night, and don't even rinse, but let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.
Jackie, I read that one should wash the length of time it takes to sing the happy birthday song THREE times!
But as far as I know - DO NOT mix Vinegar and bleach - even fumes mixing can be toxic.
From all the scientific sources I read, this is not an issue to worry about [incorrect], and a misconception that stems from the warning of not to mix ammonia and bleach. [Bleach and vinegar should never be mixed directly together; always dilute as initially reported, but not stressed enough]. In any case, bleach should be used in small amounts, to reduce exposure; only minimal to moderate amounts mixed/diluted are needed for germ killing effects.
From what I have read, vinegar (and acid) mixed with bleach CAN produce chlorine gas, which is toxic. However, the effect is less potent than the ammonia mixed with bleach.
Also, you can safely mix vinegar with diluted bleach. The general mix is one cup bleach plus one gallon of water followed by one cup vinegar. The vinegar lowers the pH of the diluted bleach from a base pH to an acid pH. The result is a very potent disinfectant that will kill even bacterial spores in a short period of time (10-20 minutes). Far more potent than diluted bleach alone.
So I guess the lesson and reminder for the day is dilute the bleach with water before mixing in with the vinegar for safety. Thanks Dave and lgrl for your input