Fogging and Disinfecting With Hydrogen Peroxide (Food-Grade)
Complete room disinfection against the coronavirus and other harmful pathogens using a handheld electric fogger is the most effective method that you can quickly utilize within your company to remain compliant with current government COVID-19 protocols. Every day I speak with managers and owners of companies across the country who need to fog anywhere between 1,000 square feet and 300,000 square feet regularly and are searching for effective and safe solutions.
When analyzing possible solutions for your company, you need to understand that you will be spraying this product on every surface of the facility. It will be in the air, ceilings, walls, carpets, and eventually make its way onto humans who enter these environments. If you're not careful, your employees and you can be poisoned by these same disinfectants, and you can also damage the environment causing further problems over the long haul.
The facts are that there are many different types of disinfectants that you can use in your fogger. The most common commercially available are chlorine dioxide, sodium hypochlorite, or alcohol-based products, but they are very dangerous to human and pet health and damage the environment. According to the California Department of Public Health, "Some ingredients found in disinfectants and sanitizers can trigger work-related asthma. They may also cause new asthma. Avoiding ingredients that can cause asthma, like bleach (sodium hypochlorite), quaternary ammonium compounds (benzalkonium chlorides), and glutaraldehyde will help prevent people from getting asthma." (1)
The easiest way to avoid these toxic products is to use all-natural and 100% biodegradable disinfectants that have been proven to be effective and safe in fogging systems for several decades like food-grade hydrogen peroxide (H2o2). Hydrogen Peroxide decontamination has been used in healthcare settings due to its superior efficacy to rapidly and safely reduce and or completely kill various microscopic pathogens on a routine basis.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has registered a product using hydrogen peroxide into what is called "Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide (VPHP)," which is a form of fogging on steroids. The EPA defines Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide as "a substance that destroys or eliminates all forms of microbial life in the inanimate environment, including all forms of vegetative bacteria, bacterial spores, fungi, fungal spores, and viruses". It is one of the chemicals approved for decontamination of anthrax spores from contaminated buildings, such as occurred during the 2001 anthrax attacks in the U.S., and has also been shown to be effective in removing exotic animal viruses, such as avian influenza and Newcastle disease from equipment and surfaces.
The EPA stated;
VPHP represents a safe alternative to the use of these toxic gases and the need for their neutralization prior to release into the atmosphere. VPHP breaks down into oxygen and water, both of which are environmentally benign. Aqueous H2O2 is active against a wide range of organisms: bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses, and spores (2).
In a recent study, scientists found fogging with hydrogen peroxide is a safe and effective product to use against many types of harmful microorganisms and viruses. The researchers stated;
"Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide (VPHP) represents a safe alternative to the use of these toxic gases and the need for their neutralization prior to release into the atmosphere. VPHP breaks down into oxygen and water, both of which are environmentally benign. Aqueous H2O2 is active against a wide range of organisms: bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses, and spores ." (3)
The reason it is preferred over other disinfectants is that it serves as a non-wipe sanitizing solution that kills 99.9% of viruses, molds, and bacteria while leaving no chemicals and or toxins behind on treated surfaces, and as equipment that results in much faster disinfection times, reduced labor, and lower-cost. Also, please keep in mind that I'm not talking about the regular stuff you can buy at your local store. Food-grade is the much superior H2o2 because it contains no additives, no stabilizers, and or chemicals, so it is considered all-natural, organic (Not USDA), or kosher. You can read more about food-grade H2o2 in my article at this link.
Does it Kill the Coronavirus (COVID-19)?
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the second emergency use authorization (EUA) to decontaminate compatible N95 or N95-equivalent respirators for reuse by health care workers in hospital settings using vaporized hydrogen peroxide sterilizers.
FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. had said, “This EUA is another game-changer. It will allow hospitals to decontaminate compatible N95 respirators using vaporized hydrogen peroxide sterilizers that are readily available in approximately 2,000 U.S. hospitals. It’s another important step forward in helping to reduce shortages in critical N95 respirators, by allowing for these important devices, when decontaminated, to be reused by health care personnel on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Consumer Reports that the authors of the Journal of Hospital Infection study noted that human coronaviruses could be "efficiently inactivated" on surfaces within one minute if they're cleaned with solutions containing 62% to 71% ethanol alcohol, 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, or 0.1% sodium hypochlorite. They said, "We expect a similar effect against the SARS-CoV-2," they added. (SARS-CoV-2 is the official scientific name of the virus.) (3)
Live Science reports that "some coronaviruses can live on surfaces for days, but not much is known about the new coronavirus' ability to survive on surfaces. Fortunately, ethanol, hydrogen peroxide, or bleach-based cleaners are effective at killing those coronaviruses that do survive on surfaces. (4)
Please keep in mind that before you fog, visual dirt and dust must be removed from most surfaces to ensure adequate contact by the hydrogen peroxide to properly disinfect to kill any hidden microorganisms. Therefore, you must also be vigilant in your cleaning efforts during this crisis.
To learn more about fogging, please read my article on how to use a fogging machine to disinfect your home and or business. If you have any questions, please give me, Moe a call at 619-349-7033.
If you need a commercial building inspection, call
SOURCES:
1. Occupational Health Branch California Department of Public Health
2. EPA
3. FDA
5. Live Science