On iso-propyl alcohol. The claim is, that the virus is fragile outside of a host. 3 pints of 99% isopropyl alcohol mixed with 1 pint Aloe vera gel,
should produce a decent hand sanitizer. No promises.
Of course, droplets containing the virus are generated by coughing, speaking or even breathing. If you breath them in, you could become infected.
Likewise, if you touch a surface that has droplets on it, and then touch your mouth, nose or eyes, you figure to become infected.
I'm in Portland where fatalities aren't overwhelming yet. But, I ain't going outside, and no-one else is getting inside either.
Groceries? I have them delivered. After a few days of untouched quarantine on my back porch, I use a paint brush to swab down suspect items with 99%
iso-propyl alcohol. I let 'em dry, and with another brush I lather up said items with a Clorox solution containing 1 cup Clorox in 1 gallon of water.
The solution won't stick unless you use some bar soap, like you would shaving soap.
With your paint brush, lather up your bar soap/ Clorox solution in a mug, paint in on and let it sit 10 or 15 minutes. Rinse it off and let the stuff
dry. Then with trepidation, I bring it inside.
A word of caution: authors have suggested a persistence of virus on porous objects, for about a day. On plastics or metals, it may persist for up to
three days. Don't trust that yardstick. It appears those projections are factored at room temperature. 72F in the USA. At colder temperatures,
the virus might survive much longer. In Portland, daytime temperatures have been hovering in the 50s.
So... I have little faith, that just a few days on my cold back porch , is enough to sterilize food packages. |
