Still Disinfecting Surfaces? It Might Not Be Worth It

[REWahoo]

An interesting article from NPR:

...scientists have learned a lot this year about the coronavirus and how it's transmitted, and it turns out all that scrubbing and disinfecting might not be necessary.

...the risk of getting infected from touching a surface contaminated by the virus is low, says Emanuel Goldman, a microbiologist at Rutgers University.

"In hospitals, surfaces have been tested near COVID-19 patients, and no infectious virus can be identified," Goldman says.

What's found is viral RNA, which is like "the corpse of the virus," he says. That's what's left over after the virus dies.

I think this sums it up best:

It's much more effective to wash your hands thoroughly than try to clean everything you touch.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...isinfecting-surfaces-it-might-not-be-worth-it

 

[Dawg52]

I quit disinfecting surfaces and wiping down product purchases some time ago. I wash my hands and keep hand sanitizer close by tho. Everytime I come out of a grocery story I always use it immediately. And after putting groceries away in my house I wash my hands. But that's about all I do.

 

[W2R]

I haven't disinfected surfaces in probably half a year.

Also I have cut back on my handwashing a little, although I still wash my hands more than I did before the pandemic. I have never used hand sanitizer and I don't wear my disposable gloves when pumping gas any more. Instead I wash my hands with plenty of soap afterwards. Hand washing makes sense to me.

I wear my stupid ineffectual cloth mask because I don't see the point in being a troublemaker or upsetting people. I try to be considerate of others and not expose them to anything they are concerned about, because I perceive myself to be a considerate person. Authorities can tell me what to do, and I'll do it, but they can't tell me what to think about it (and I keep my mouth shut about my rebellious thoughts although I am writing about them here). Never mind my attitude, I am just being a cranky old lady. At 72 I figure I have the right.

Still I haven't caught a cold or flu or anything else all year. Other than eating lunch at a (very sanitary) restaurant every day, and the occasional doctor/dentist appointment, I am seldom if ever near human beings other than Frank.

 

[GenXguy]

Early on, I was paranoid about touching anything in the outside world, including mail left in my mailbox. I disinfected groceries, was very careful with taking off my shoes at the door way and not putting my foot down where I had stepped with my shoe, putting mail aside for a few days, completely avoiding any prepared foods (restaurants). Well, as time went by, there was never any evidence that it was spreading that way, cases remained low here last summer, so I mostly returned to my old ways, just washing my hands and using hand sanitizer, but not obsessively so, and not worried about all those surfaces much. Now, I'm several days past my first vaccination dose, so I'll be even less concerned with surface contamination.

I know breathing in the virus is the real danger, so I did splurge on a more expensive mask with a filter sewn into it that actually does a better job in filtering the air you breathe in against microscopic particles than those homemade and cheap makes you see everyone wearing.

 

[Midpack]

Good post, confirms what we’re being told. Masks, social distancing and washing hands/sanitizer is still the best defense. Hopefully this won’t all be necessary a year from now...

 

[pb4uski]

I noticed on the golf course that we played today that there were no foam inserts in the holes, ball washers and trap rakes were available, etc. We usually leave the pin in anyway. they even had water out on the course.

 

[RobbieB]

I never disinfect surfaces. Never have and never will. Have never ever bought chlorox wipes. Wife is still looking for them. Very popular now it seems.

And for no good reason eh?

Lotsa scared people out there and they are the most dangerous kind. I stay away from people. That's the best defense.

 

[RAE]

I never disinfect surfaces. Never have and never will. Have never ever bought chlorox wipes.

Me neither. The evidence is overwhelming that COVID is spread through airborne transmission virtually 100% of the time. Disinfecting everything in your house is not only a waste of time, it's probably killing lots of beneficial microbes that could lead to adverse health effects, if you do it often enough.

The other thing we now know is that COVID is very rarely spread in outdoor environments, unless an infected person is basically breathing on someone else at very close range, for a sustained period of time. Indoor environments are where the virus is able to spread from person to person. Even then, just going to the store to get groceries (while masked) when the store is not crowded, is very low risk. On the other hand, eating at an indoor restaurant for a couple hours or more with other people nearby, and other events involving spending quite a bit of time indoors, with quite a few people nearby, are much higher risk.

 

[jollystomper]

We have stopped disinfecting surfaces, wiping down packages, etc. at a greater frequency than we did during "normal" times.

For me the key thing I watch is touching my face. The mask is a good reminder to do that. Plus, since I have hay fever allergies, I learned long ago not to touch my face during hay fever season and that has been helpful in these times.

The friends I golf with don't talk much, so we are not spewing forth microbes at each other . It would be difficult to analyze, but I wonder if those who tend to talk a lot, particularly at meals or in social gatherings, are the ones more likely to catch and spread the virus than those of us who are more verbally introverted.

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah Baby!

I always avoid blowhards. Ya wanna talk? I'm down the road. Talk to the wind.

 

[Ready]

Maybe now I’ll be able to find some Lysol wipes in stock. I still haven’t seen any since February. Or maybe I don’t need them any more so no need to worry about it.

 

[GenXguy]

Maybe now I’ll be able to find some Lysol wipes in stock. I still haven’t seen any since February. Or maybe I don’t need them any more so no need to worry about it.

I have a couple containers of Clorox wipes I've never opened. I opened one of the three pack and only used it a few times.

I bought a couple large containers of hand sanitizer back on March 1st. Both are still mostly full.

 

[Buckeye]

Before we understood transmission was via aerosols and I was cleaning surfaces, I found the wipes to be a pain because the surface had to remain wet for minutes if the solution was to do its job. For a surface to remain wet for 5 minutes, a single wipe of the area is typically not enough.

I took to wrapping a sheet of Costco plastic wrap around my high touch fridge door and drawer handles and changing it daily or after putting away groceries. For some reason, I also decided to do this with my cat's wet food bowl (little white Corel bowls). Instead of having to soak off the concrete-like dried wet food, I just 'unwrap' the bowl and pitch the wrap and 'wrap' the bowl with a new piece prior to putting new food in. This has been an awesome discovery! One bowl lasts for days instead of going through one or two bowls a day. And did I mention her wet food dries like concrete?

 

[Dtail]

Also stopped disinfecting surfaces unless in contact with raw protein.

 

[tmm99]

If surfaces are safe, does this mean we don't have to wash our hands (that touch surfaces of things)?

 

[Kwirk]

I'm far less compulsive now about avoiding surface contamination but I still use hand sanitizer and wear at least one glove in certain situations, such as pumping gas or after handling take-out packaging. I do still wear goggles when I feel particularly at risk of exposure, such as in stores, or at least eye glasses when near others who are not part of my bubble. Eye protection is clearly recommended for front-line medical personnel. I'm not certain of the benefit of eye protection for the public but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Alan]

The only surfaces we clean are on the supermarket trollies and baskets, and the stores provide spray and paper towels to do that.

We continue to wash hands regularly, and always after returning home from the shops. I think it is a habit we will continue even after this is over as it probably helps somewhat with colds and flu prevention. Not having had a cold all year has been nice.

 

[sengsational]

Early in the pandemic, they smeared concentrated virus on various surfaces and kept optimal humidity and temperature, so as to define an upper bound (three days under the most favorable conditions). Those were not transmission studies (there were none at the time).

Then the news had cases where they "found the virus on surfaces" annoying click bait cr*p, where what they found was viral fragments (non-viable).

But experience has shown that the surface transfer route is very small compared to taking freshly exhaled virus into your nose and eyes. Surface transmission is not impossible, but airborn transmission does explain why I would still get a head cold, even when very careful about washing my hands and never touching my face.

I will admit to being one of the "nothing comes into the house without aging or getting wiped down" people (a matter of record on this board). With more data, our household has relaxed the protocols; the super easy to do ones still persist, but the difficult ones have been simplified or eliminated.

 

[Amethyst]

I tend to agree, although we both wear masks. The accordion-fold paper disposable kind, which aren't that burdensome, and probably defend us a little when we can't avoid people (as in doctor offices).

Although I believe in being sanitary and having clean hands, it was clear from the outset that the real hazard was other people breathing on one.

I never disinfect surfaces. Never have and never will. Have never ever bought chlorox wipes. Wife is still looking for them. Very popular now it seems.

And for no good reason eh?

Lotsa scared people out there and they are the most dangerous kind. I stay away from people. That's the best defense.

 

[freedomatlast]

My rules have remained unchanged. Stay as far away from others as possible and wear a mask and glasses to avoid airborne transmission, and never put your hands in your eyes, nose or mouth without washing hands first. Simple and effective.

 

[pacergal]

cleaning surfaces has always been a part of my housekeeping, with the pandemic, I started doing it more frequently.
At the start of the pandemic, I was wiping down almost everything from the grocery, but have pretty much stopped that.
Being a nurse, frequent handwashing is part of my life and always will be!

 

[tmm99]

I tend to agree, although we both wear masks. The accordion-fold paper disposable kind, which aren't that burdensome, and probably defend us a little when we can't avoid people (as in doctor offices).

I use a filter (PM25) inside my surgical mask (the accordion-fold paper disposable kind). A filter is recommended when you wear a fabric face covering that doesn't have layers.

I see a lot of hospital staff double-masking, so maybe there's a reason for that? (eliminate more air gaps? Not sure). I just feel more secure a filter than not. Plus I wear sports goggles over my eyes.

 

[statsman]

Back in the summer they were still saying COVID-19 could survive on surfaces for hours, if not days. The experts have gotten far more wrong about the virus than they've gotten right since the outbreak. And they wonder why so many just shrugged after a period of time and started ignoring them, sadly leading to a bigger spike in the virus now than predicted earlier this year.

 

[audreyh1]

Back in the summer they were still saying COVID-19 could survive on surfaces for hours, if not days. The experts have gotten far more wrong about the virus than they've gotten right since the outbreak. And they wonder why so many just shrugged after a period of time and started ignoring them, sadly leading to a bigger spike in the virus now than predicted earlier this year.

I don’t think you can exclusively blame the experts not having completely accurate answers early on for subsequent Covid fatigue or people blowing off precautions for whatever personal reasons. There have been lots of loud conflicting messages out there.

 

[Amethyst]

Did you not wash your hands pre-COVID?

If surfaces are safe, does this mean we don't have to wash our hands (that touch surfaces of things)?