What disinfectants work against COVID-19 and which ones should you not mix?

In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of disinfectants is an important part of prevention measures to contain the spread of the virus.

Clean visibly dirty surfaces and then disinfect them it is the best measure to prevent COVID-19 and other respiratory viral diseases, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

What are the products that work best to disinfect?

Soap and water

Dr. Omar Carrasco, from the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), points out that the viruses like COVID-19 They need a cell to activate because biologically they are not alive.

To avoid the virus becomes active and is no longer infectious, Carrasco indicates that the best is use of soap and water, since the coronavirus is enveloped by lipids; that is to say, fat, which can be disintegrated with the use of soap.

“The inactivation of viruses is very easy, in the case of COVID-19, it has an envelope that has fat, which is a layer of lipids, and this fat is very easy to dissolve with soap and water, ”explained Dr. Omar Carrasco.

Chlorine with water

Chlorine is one of the most effective disinfecting agents against viruses and bacteria; However, Carlos Rius, from the UNAM Faculty of Chemistry, recommends making good use of this product to ensure its effectiveness and reduce risks.

To achieve a good disinfection it is recommended dilute 20 milliliters of bleach for every liter of water and do not add other types of cleaning products.

It is suggested do not mix chlorine with vinegar, lemon, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or ammoniaas these combinations could be toxic and dangerous for people’s health.

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Alcohol of more than 70 ° concentration

Disinfectants or alcohol with a concentration of more than 70 ° are more effective in eliminating pathogens such as COVID-19.

“What they use, soap and water, alcohol 70Any preparation that causes the membrane of this virus to break is enough to inactivate it, which is why the call to constantly wash your hands ”, explained Carrasco.

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Why is it important to disinfect surfaces and other preventive cleaning measures?

The UNAM academic refers that in the specific case of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, can be active up to 48 hours on some surfaces.

Therefore, it is very important to clean and disinfect common areas and things such as tables, door handles, light switches, desks, toilets, faucets, telephones, sinks and electronics, with the intention of preventing COVID-19 and other respiratory viral diseases, the CDC suggests.

Likewise, the layer of fat that covers the coronavirus allows it to adhere to human skin, so a good hand washing with soap and water for 20 seconds will inactivate and release the virus completely, avoiding contagion by coronavirus and other diseases.

“If you put a little bit of soap in a droplet of fat, you can see perfectly that it moves, that it is interrupted, So that is what we are looking for, with soap and water all the fat compounds that the virus envelope has are dissolved and the virus is inactivated and then it can no longer be infectious, and that is the idea ”, said Dr. Omar Carrasco.

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What products are not used to disinfect?

Among the disinformation that circulates, mainly on social networks, about remedies to disinfect surfaces and hands To avoid the coronavirus, there is the use of elements such as lemon, vinegar and fabric softener.

However, the specialist from the Faculty of Medicine affirms that this is not true, since viruses are not killed since they are not biologically alive, and they cannot be deactivated as the composition of these products does not have the ability to disintegrate the layer of lipids or fat that surrounds COVID-19.

“This combination of fabric softener with something else that kills the virus is inaccurate because the viruses are not alive.”, Alerted the doctor Carrasco.

Therefore, authorities of the Ministry of Health (SSa) make a call not to pay attention to myths and fake news about how to avoid or cure the coronavirus.

Can I make my own sanitizer?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that consumers not make their own hand sanitizers.

If done incorrectly, they can be ineffective and there have been reports of skin burns from homemade hand sanitizers.

The agency does not have verifiable information on the methods used to prepare hand sanitizers at home and whether it is safe to use them on human skin, it explained.

Techniques for cleaning and disinfection

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that cleaning should advance from the least dirty to the dirtiest part, and from top to bottom so that the particles fall to the ground and are cleaned at the end; proceed in a systematic way so as not to miss any area.

“After cleaning you have to apply a chemical disinfectant, such as chlorine or alcohol, to destroy the remaining microbes,” said the WHO.

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