Hypochlorous acid disinfection put to the test
Hypochlorous acid disinfection is creating a buzz. Since the global pandemic this wonder biocide has being adopted by global healthcare facilities and brands and put into their arsenal as a gentle but powerfully effective answer to infection control.
We have been lucky enough to work with organisations such as the NHS, Bupa, Akari Care, the DHSC and M&S to test the power and efficacy or our hypochlorous acid in a vast range of facilities and for a wide variety of uses. And whilst HOCl is the best choice for healthcare settings we wanted to test it in everyday situations on everyday items that we all come in contact with.
How effective is hypochlorous acid disinfection on toilets?
In August 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Aqualution was invited to undertake trials of hypochlorous acid fogging at one of the UK’s largest flower factories using pre and post swabbing techniques (read the full report here).
Unsurprisingly one of the dirtiest areas of the factory was the inside lock on both the male and female toilet doors. However, as soon as they were fogged with our hypochlorous acid product Salvesan, they were clean enough to lick (!) which got us thinking about other everyday objects, how dirty they are and how effective HOCl is against those pathogens present.
How effective is hypochlorous acid disinfection on everyday items?
We collated a number of items from our team in the office and after pre-swabbing, sprayed all items using a fine mist of our Salvesan hypochlorous acid in a flairosol bottle, wiping each item immediately after spraying with disposable kitchen towel so there was minimal dwell time. Pre and post swabs were sent to an independent lab for evaluation.
One thing that we noticed that the everyday objects in our office were not as dirty as we thought they might be, possibly because we are surrounded by hypochlorous acid all day every day (possibly the reason why none of us are ever ill). Those items that looked dirty (the purse) were relatively clean and those that looked pristine (the reusable bag and toilet lock door) were not so it was a good demonstration of perception versus reality.
The results also highlighted what we had hoped and expected, that our Salvesan hypochlorous acid disinfection reduced the anaerobic colony count by over 99% in less than five seconds on all items that we tested. An excellent example of the use of HOCl in the real-world.
Remember…
Hypochlorous kills 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.99% of viruses, works in less than 60 seconds and has been shown in lab tests to work in as little as 12 seconds. Just remember that only stable HOCl comes in black bottles!
