COVID-19: How it Spreads

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and The Center for Disease Control (CDC), there are two main pathways for the spread of COVID-19. The first form of transfer is through respiratory aerosols from an infected person. The water droplets of someone who has the virus can spread to other people through common things like talking, sneezing, coughing, and even exhaling when breathing. This is thought to be the main form of transfer, these droplets can stay in the air for sometimes 8 to 14 minutes and they spread most commonly indoors within 6 feet. The second form of transfer occurs when these droplets from an infected person land on a surface directly from coughing, sneezing, or talking, and the surface is then touched by someone else and they touch their mouth, face, or eyes. Though this is not thought to be the main cause of spread, it is still a common form of spread and it is important to try to prevent these cases. According to the National Institute of Health, COVID-19 is detectable for up to 3 hours in surface aerosols, for up to 4 hours on copper, for up to 24 hours on cardboard, and for up to 3 days on plastic and stainless steel. Therefore, it is important to disinfect areas that people touch often like door handles, and why it is important to be washing your hands regularly.

Hypochlorous Acid Effectiveness Against COVID-19

Currently, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recommended several disinfectants to use against the virus that causes COVID-19 and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is one of those.  Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is an active ingredient accepted by EPA for registered disinfectants and is also listed on the EPA’s List N to kill Sars-Cov-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19).  

An article released by the NIH says, “An ideal disinfectant and sanitizer must be non-toxic to surface contact, non-corrosive, effective in various forms, and relatively inexpensive.” Considering the fact that hypochlorous acid is 99.9% water-based and found in the human body – it fits this description better than traditional products. 

The article later goes on to say,

[…] HOCl has been shown to inactivate a variety of viruses including coronaviruses in less than 1 minute. At a concentration of 200 ppm, HOCl is effective in decontaminating inert surfaces carrying noroviruses and other enteric viruses in a 1-minute contact time. When diluted 10-fold, HOCl solutions at 20 ppm were still effective in decontaminating environmental surfaces carrying viruses in a 10-minute contact time […]

How Annihilare Can Help

Annihilare offers Annihilyte®, which is our 500ppm FAC hypochlorous solution that will help with daily disinfection of hard, non-porous surfaces.  Annihilyte® is great for use at home, gyms, schools, restaurants, office buildings, and medical practices.  Keep in mind that it is also a more sustainable solution than most as we make Annihilyte® from water, salt, and electricity.  No harsh chemicals.  

If your usage requires a higher volume of product, you may be a candidate for an On-Site Generator.  More on that next time…

Learn more and order products at Annihilyte.com.