Posted by Danielle Downs on Mar.07, 2009

©iStockphoto.com - tacojim

The clean campaign of this generation is all about germ warfare. The war on germs, that is. There seem to be many misconceptions about green cleaners and their ability to disinfect. The larger question is, how important is disinfecting the surfaces at home, school, and work?

A recent study at Clark Atlanta University compared bleach and greener cleaning products (commercial and home-made) with a focus on the killing of E. coli. It’s the microbe that is found in contaminated meats and produce and most commonly gets in the baby pool from leaky diapers. The scientists in this study argued that killing E. coli by any means necessary is best for public health. They also concluded that bleach is the best solution for E. coli, followed by petrochemical cleaners, with greener alternatives weighing in as “ineffective.” Never mind the petroleum or cancer-causing organochlorides in toxic cleaners.

The war on germs is sensationalized in the media and especially in advertising. The common phrase “kills 99.9% of germs” is on most of the wipes, sprays, and bottles moms buy every day. We have come to expect that our cleaners will sanitize because microbe- free is more than the trend, it’s one of the tenants of “normal” American motherhood.

Over-disinfection is actually extremely dangerous to our immune systems for two reasons: over-kill and resistance. These germ-battling products aren’t selective. They can’t kill the evil bacteria that make us sick while leaving behind the beneficial bacteria that keep us well. Anyone ever contending with a urinary tract infection knows first hand that the heavy course of antibiotics can lead to yeast over-growth. Antibiotic resistance is nothing new. Rick Lewis Ph.D. explains, “[J]ust four years after drug companies began mass-producing penicillin in 1943, microbes began appearing that could resist it.”

Furthermore, “…resistance increased to a number of commonly used antibiotics, possibly related to overuse of antibiotics. In the 1990s, we’ve come to a point for certain infections that we don’t have agents available,” says Michael Blum, M.D.

Bleach and anti-bacteria detergents work the same way. They kill. They are murderous little molecules who don’t discriminate. They kill the good and the bad. When it comes to cleaning around your home, these concepts apply. Eventually they enter the waste water stream where they continue their indiscriminate killing. Anyone with a septic system can tell you first hand how bleaching products have slowed or even stopped the decomposition capacity of their tank.

Clean is not the same as disinfect. Take a salad plate and remove the salad dressing from the plate with soap and water. The plate is clean. It does not taste or smell or feel like food is on it. Is it sterile? No. Do I need a sterile plate? Probably not.

Keeping germs at bay really boils down to common sense. Good hand washing practices and controlling the kitchen environment (pets out, kids scrub up before helping, hair pulled back, etc) will suffice for keeping bad germs off your food. Surface cleaning after preparing meats is especially important.

1. Use a cutting board and not the counter top when working with raw meats.
2. Wash cutting boards, knives, and utensils in warm soapy water then dry completely before reusing
3. Salt is a great anti-bacterial scrub for cutting boards if you don’t trust your soap. After washing with soap and water, pour ¼ cup of salt and a teaspoon of water (to make a paste) on to the cutting board. Rub in and let rest for a few minutes. Rinse away and dry completely.
4. Use salt scrub on your counter tops if you are worried about cross contamination. Salt kills the bacteria through osmosis. The bacteria cells will release all their water in a too-salty environment and die. This is why some people use a saltwater wash on their meats.
5. Commercially produced green cleaners contain surfactants that remove bacteria from surfaces but do not make “kill claims.” The EPA has strict regulations on language like kills, disinfects, anti-bacterial, and germicide and often requires animal testing for toxicity. This is why so few commercially produced cleaning products make disinfecting claims. Some contain peroxide which will also kill bacteria.

And the E. coli in our bodies? E. coli is the abbreviated name of the bacterium in the Family Enterobacteriaceae named Escherichia (Genus) coli (Species). The amount of E. coli found in a typical American adult’s intestines (typical Western diet) is approximately 0.1% of the total bacteria in the intestine. In contrast, in a newborn infant’s intestines E. coli, along with lactobacilli and enterococci, represent the most abundant bacterial flora. The presence of E. coli and other kinds of bacteria is necessary for us to remain healthy. E. coli is responsible for the synthesis of Vitamin K and B-complex vitamins.

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Posted under Green Cleaning, Home Environment.