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Copper germ killer
- Thread starter Rgarner
- Start date
Where did you read it? Copper has some antimicrobial properties, and is known to be a surface that influenza viruses struggle to survive more than a few hours on. But there are also a lot of scam artists and hoaxers out there, as well as people who don't understand this stuff and think that if something works against one virus it will work against another. So this is why I ask where you read it: anything less than a peer-reviewed scientific study I would treat with caution.
Washing your hands with soap whenever you come in is probably the best idea (the soap degrades the lipid shell of the virus).
Washing your hands with soap whenever you come in is probably the best idea (the soap degrades the lipid shell of the virus).
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The thing with reading things multiple times on the internet is that it's not necessarily a validation, as they may well all just be repeating each other. See the cartoon below for a humourous (but not entirely inaccurate) take on the phenomenon:
As I say, it is known that the lifetime of many infective agents is dramatically reduced on copper surfaces, including some coronaviruses (the one responsible for SARS has been tested). The question is whether this particular coronavirus has been tested? It's very easy to imagine someone reading that a coronavirus does not survive for long on copper surfaces and concluding that this means that this coronavirus does not survive long (especially since I suspect that many people think that "coronavirus" means a specific virus rather than a class of viruses). And that may well be true - after all, it is effective against some related viruses. I am being cautious simply because if it has not been tested on this particular virus it's also possible that it may be less effective against this one, with the obvious risk of a false sense of security if that is the case.
And heck, there's an XKCD cartoon for the coronavirus naming problem as well...
As I say, it is known that the lifetime of many infective agents is dramatically reduced on copper surfaces, including some coronaviruses (the one responsible for SARS has been tested). The question is whether this particular coronavirus has been tested? It's very easy to imagine someone reading that a coronavirus does not survive for long on copper surfaces and concluding that this means that this coronavirus does not survive long (especially since I suspect that many people think that "coronavirus" means a specific virus rather than a class of viruses). And that may well be true - after all, it is effective against some related viruses. I am being cautious simply because if it has not been tested on this particular virus it's also possible that it may be less effective against this one, with the obvious risk of a false sense of security if that is the case.
And heck, there's an XKCD cartoon for the coronavirus naming problem as well...
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Is this another Jim Bakker product? Like his miracle 'silver solution' for curing coronavirus? 
Seriously, @Rgarner, using common sense, good hygiene, and paying attention to Dr Anthony Fauci's recommendations are the best course of action right now. Don't fall prey to anything claiming to kill/cure/prevent CV--whose real purpose is to bilk gullible and frightened people out of their hard-earned money.
Bleach--plain old bleach, like most of us already have on hand--is all you need for cleaning surfaces and for killing the virus when doing laundry.
Seriously, @Rgarner, using common sense, good hygiene, and paying attention to Dr Anthony Fauci's recommendations are the best course of action right now. Don't fall prey to anything claiming to kill/cure/prevent CV--whose real purpose is to bilk gullible and frightened people out of their hard-earned money.
Bleach--plain old bleach, like most of us already have on hand--is all you need for cleaning surfaces and for killing the virus when doing laundry.
Those are great cartoons. I think it was tested against covid-19. I also know of silver as an antimicrobial but it apparently requires the presence of moisture, whereas copper kills by releasing ions, even if it has turned green. This is supposedly true of its alloys brass and bronze, as well. Bleach would be terrific if it were readily available. Where I am there is none on store shelves. People rush in and stock up, leaving none for others. The other day I called the store just to be sure. I was told that when the truck arrived, there was already a crowd of 60 waiting for the place to open. That was at 5 a. m.. They've since changed their hours.
Every time I see queues outside a shop (or more commonly photos of queues) I can't help thinking that the people are standing too close together.
Hopefully, your local/state officials will mandate 'no hoarding/stockpiling' rules soon, as mine have. That should solve the problem. Plus, many stores are limiting to one or two of an item per customer. If yours aren't doing that, call their managers and request that they do so immediately. I would.
Yes, a lot of that is being done. Also, there are tape lines/boxes on the floor showing people where to stand in some stores. At least one Starbucks has removed the furniture. Let's not forget those elevators with toothpicks or tissues for people to use on the buttons and then place in a container for disposal. There's even a case (at least one) of a tp roll being locked to the spindle. I just hope those jerks stealing masks and hand sanitizer from hospitals get caught and punished. I guess I'll finish for now with the guy, in Kentucky, I think, who checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice and apparently refused to stay home. It seems the state governor invoked some clause or other to send the police and make sure he stays at home. I wonder how much that's going to cost. At least it's not Florida man.