Are Antbacterial Cleaning Products Safe?

By CAROL

It's hard to find cleaning products without this label

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They kill 99.9% of Disease Organism

SALMONELLA, E. COLI, WEST NILE, RHINOVIRUS, SWINE FLU

They are in the news. They are making us sick. How do we protect ourselves from something that you can't even see? If you listen to the television, it's by cleaning every surface of your home, including dishes and your body with antibacterial cleansers, wipes, dish washing liquid and soap. They kill 99.9% of all the creepy crawlies. That's a good thing, right? Unfortunately the answer is NO.

How can killing 99.9% of the micro organisms living on household surfaces be a bad thing? Ask your self, why doesn't kill the 0.1% that are left? The answer is because that 0.1% left are already immune to the disinfectant. So by wiping out the weaker 99.9%, it leave room for that 0.1% to reproduce like mad, filling all that space with bacteria and viruses that are immune to the disinfectant.

Hepatitis C virus

Thye are Everywhere

Bacteria

The Best Defense is Still

Plenty of soap and water is still the best defense against infections. Washing your hands often will do more to prevent the spread of a cold than any cleaning product with anti microbials in it. And not that little spot of soap, spot of water, rinse and dry. Really wash your hands. All it takes is 15 seconds of lathering your hands completely to wash the germs right down the drain.

This goes for the counter tops in the kitchen as well. Plenty of hot soapy water and a clean cloth or sponge will do an good job of cleaning the hard surfaces in the kitchen. When wiping the counters down just make sure to use a clean cloth or sponge (to keep sponges squeecky clean toss them in the top rack of your dishwasher).

Chlorine Bleach

An Inexpensive But Affective Alternative: Bleach

That's what I said, bleach, the same kind that is sitting in your laundry room. I have worked in laboratory for over 25 years. Do you know what every hospital lab in America uses to disinfect their work stations? They use a solution of water and chlorine bleach. This solution eliminates both bacteria and viruses, including flu and the viruses that cause hepatitis and HIV. Simply mix one ounce of bleach with 9 of water. The bleach solution works by rupturing the outer membranes of both bacteria and viruses and none are immune to this mechanical action.

This Should be in Everyone's Pocket

Even Plastic Toys

The Health Department is aware of how well bleach works. Day care providers are required to wash toys on a regular basis with a water and bleach solution.

So rather than spending money on products that just make the microbes stronger just remember to WASH YOUR HANDS. When you can't wash your hands, use a hand sanitizer but hand sanitizers still don't work as well as plain soap and water.

Over 100 years Old and Still the Best

That's not to say that chlorine bleach is completely safe. It is a chemically stable form of chlorine and chlorine is toxic to all living things. But unlike other cleaners, once the beach is exposed to light and air it breaks down leaving very little residue behind. This simple product that has been around for over 100yrs is more effective than all the new fangled cleaning products and their antimicrobial action.