A North Carolina company claims that their disinfectant can kill the coronavirus that’s now spread to nearly 90 Americans.
Enviro-Master, based in Charlotte, says that its Virus Vaporizer bathroom cleaning product is ‘proven’ to kill the virus, according to CBS17.
Virus Vaporizer is hospital-grade disinfectant that purports to kill everything from MRSA to H1N1 flu because it can attach to any surface.
Electrostatic sprays have long been used to ensure that liquids thoroughly coat surfaces, but it’s unclear that Virus Vaporizer has ever been tested against the new coronavirus.
And the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ‘hospital-grade’ designation only requires the cleaning solution to be tested against two pathogens: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.
No products have gotten full approval for use against the newly-emerged coronavirus, but Virus Vaporizer isn’t even included on the ‘pre-approved’ list compiled by the American Chemistry Council.
Virus Vaporizer is sprayed onto surfaces from a gun-like device – but hasn’t been pre-approved as likely to be effective against coronavirus
Officials are not recommending wearing masks and using hand sanitizer is better than nothing, but not equal to soap and water.
Still, that hasn’t stopped Americans from panic-buying stores across the country out of both products as well as household cleaning products.
Evidence so far suggests that the new virus that’s infected nearly 90,000 people world wide and killed more than 3,000 can survive on surfaces for about two hours.
That’s particularly worrisome for hospital workers like the 95 who are now in isolation in Solano County, California after interacting with a patient who tested positive for coronavirus. They were not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when they first crossed paths with the woman.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised that bleach is not likely to get rid of the virus.
Many high-grade cleaning products have been shown kill viruses, including known coronaviruses.
Making sure they do so requires that the be left on surfaces for a sufficient amount of time before being wiped away, up to several minutes.
In this sense, Enviro-Master’s Virus Vaporizer might have an advantage over other cleaning products because spray’s positive charge ensures it sticks to any surface, giving the disinfectant a better chance to act on pathogens there.
‘It contains a hospital-grade germicide that attacks the virus,’ Matt Berry with Enviro-Master told CBS17.
‘It kills all of the germs in all of the areas that you touch,’ he claimed.
But in actuality, we don’t know that for sure yet.
Technicians are nonetheless spraying their product in restaurants and restrooms where business owners hope to prevent the spread of coronavirus
No products have gotten full approval for use against the new coronavirus, but the American Chemistry Council has given pre-approval to more than 100 chemicals.
Enviro-Master’s product does not make that list.
Its product may have been tested against flu viruses like H1N1 and even other known coronaviruses that cause the common cold.
Even though the new belongs to the same family as other coronaviruses, this is not a guarantee that it will kill the new coronavirus, too.
The virus spreads primarily via tiny droplets of saliva that may spray when a sick person coughs or sneezes.
Surfaces are a less effective mode of transmission, but should still be kept clean.
The CDC does encourage keeping high-traffic surfaces clean.
‘Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects daily (e.g., tables, countertops, light switches, doorknobs, and cabinet handles) using a regular household detergent and water. If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent and water prior to disinfection,’ its site says.
A full list of the virus-killing products pre-approved to get rid of coronavirus is available at the American Chemistry Council’s website.
Enviro-Master did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.