– If you have to have specific ingredients in your disinfectant wipes/sprays to clean off unwanted contamination by health organizations – why is anything under the category of ‘hand soap’ considered effective for washing your hands?
In: Biology
Those two chemicals act very differently. Bleach and alcohol based wipes kill the microorganisms by making the environment too toxic to survive. They will destroy the “skin” of the microorganisms. Hand soap on the other hand will attach itself to the microorganisms a bit like a puzzle piece. When the soap is washed away so are the microorganisms.
The issue with wipes and sanitizer is that it isn’t guaranteed to wash away any bacteria and alcohol will evaporate quickly (that’s why it makes your hands feel cold for a minute) meaning your hands go right back to being a hospitable environment to any surviving microorganisms. And survival isn’t outside of the realm of possibility since the usual time to cover your hands in hand sanitizer isn’t long enough to scrub it well and truly into all the nooks and crannies.
Soap on the other hand (when used properly) will remove the microorganisms entirely leaving nothing behind to survive. The drawback is, it requires time and water. While hand sanitizer and wipes can be used anywhere.
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