eli5 Because alcohol kills bacteria, could someone reuse something like a shot glass over and over without cleaning and have no ill effect?
In: Chemistry
While alcohol can kill some bacteria on the surface of things, it’s not a magic shield that makes everything completely safe. Here’s why reusing a shot glass without cleaning isn’t the best idea:
Not all bacteria are bad: Just like in a playground, there are good and bad guys in the bacteria world. Alcohol mainly deals with the bad guys, the ones that can make you sick. But even if it kills some, even small amounts of bad bacteria can grow quickly in warm, cozy places like a used shot glass.
Germs love company: Bacteria aren’t the only party poopers at the microscopic level. Viruses, mold, and other tiny friends can also hang out in a dirty glass. These guys might not be affected by alcohol and can make you feel yucky in different ways.
Sticky situations: Even if there weren’t any tiny critters, leftover sugar or other stuff from previous drinks can stick around in a glass. This can make your next drink taste funky and could lead to bigger problems like mold growing if not cleaned.
Yuck factor: Imagine putting your lips on a glass someone else used without cleaning it. Not the most appetizing, right? Even if it’s your own glass, it’s best to give it a quick rinse between sips, just like sharing toys with friends!
So, while a little bit of alcohol might zap some bad bacteria, it’s not enough to keep your shot glass a safe playground for your next sip. Remember, washing your cup or glass is like giving it a superhero shower, blasting away all the tiny villains and making it sparkle clean for a fresh adventure!
Remember, this is just like playtime – you wouldn’t want to keep using the same toy without cleaning it up, right? Keeping your glass clean is like taking care of your toys, making sure they’re ready for more fun next time!
Assuming you use high enough proof alcohol, the glass would be effectively sterilized every time you filled it. I think you probably wouldn’t be taking a *safety* risk by doing this. But bacteria’s not the only way for things to be dirty. The damp glass will ciollect dust from the surrounding air, and the little bit of booze left in the bottom after you take a drink, will dry out and leave some solid residue that gets stuck to the inside. It probably won’t hurt you, but it *will* get nasty and crusty.
The problem with a lot of alcoholic drinks is that they come with sugars and other organic compounds which can feed bacteria. The alcohol used to sterilize things is just a solution of alcohol and water. If you only used high proof alcohols in the shot glass, you wouldn’t need to wash it as often, but I still would if it’s been sitting around dirty for more than a couple hours. Once any residual alcohol evaporates (which wouldn’t take long) the rest is bacteria food.
Alcohol’s ability to kill bacteria is dependent on the concentration, water content, time, and temperature. Drinking alcohol is usually 15%-40%, alcohol used for sanitizing is usually 80% or above. It wouldn’t predictably sanitize itself well enough to be safe.
Adding to the previous good answers. Bacteria can also produce toxic substances. Bad body odour for example comes from acid produced by bacteria living on your skin and hair. Killing the bacteria doesn’t remove the toxic substances.
That is why you can still get ill even if you boil spoiled food.
The first thing to note is that the alcohol you consume is a different kind than the cleaning type.
Alcohol you consume is ethyl alcohol. The other is isopropyl alcohol. Consuming isopropyl alcohol can cause death, but in small doses, it can lead to blindness. Chemically, they are very different.
Your body can metabolize ethyl alcohol due to an enzyme called ADH (Alcohol dehydrogenase), but this enzyme does not work for isopropyl alcohol, thus making it fatal.
When ethyl alcohol is metabolized, it gets converted into a complex sugar (carbohydrate), which is then further broken down to simple sugars. The body then uses that for energy.
In theory, a very high proof ethyl alcohol could ‘sterilize’ the container. In most cases, it really doesn’t.
There is your chemistry lesson for the day kids. I now return you to your scheduled program.
Latest Answers