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HIV AIDS, contagious tuberculosis, hepatitis B and other scary diseases and their terrible effect have been reported by news sources everywhere. These news stories have warned us, or at least reminded us, that disease-causing germs — bacterial, viral or otherwise — are seemingly lurking everywhere.
It makes parents uneasy. Household cleaning takes on an additional sense of urgency as mothers seek to protect their family and especially their children from illness.
Cleaning product manufacturers have rolled out antibacterial cleaners and soaps as quickly as you can say bird flu pandemic.
I am concerned that using antibacterial products on germs is akin to poisoning mice. Obviously mice are bigger, but the idea is the same. The reason antibacterial products kill things is because they are pesticides!
Here’s what we now know:
- Many germs (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.) need a food supply, warmth and moisture to survive. Simply cleaning with soap and water removes a significant number of them. The very act of cleaning also can result in a clean and dry surface hostile to their growth.
- Antibacterial products do not kill viruses, only bacteria.
- Because a home is not a sterile environment, even if an antibacterial cleaner is used, germs start growing again almost immediately.
- Antibacterial products (poisons) go down the drain and eventually enter the ecosytem. Almost no one thinks that is a good thing.
Antibacterial soaps are no better than plain soap in preventing infectious disease, according to a recent study from Columbia University. Researchers found that there is virtually no difference in the rate of symptoms between those using antibacterial products and those who do not. Since 2000, the American Medical Association (AMA) has been advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to monitor and possibly regulate the home use of antibacterials. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using plain old soap and traditional cleaning agents and not ones with antibacterial properties. In Oct. 2005 the FDA brought the issue of antibacterials to an outside committee of experts, to examine whether the agency needs to limit their use by consumers.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or perspective of Housekeeping Channel LLC.
