Clorox or Peroxide?

[LMT2BSN]

I'm testing the effectiveness of different cleaners, and was curious as to what your hospital uses to regularly clean..(I'm not sure if there is legally a standard for this)

---I know, sort of a boring topic, but it's peaked my interest as I'm becoming more and more interested in Chemistry.

Just looking at some chemistry forums, some have stated that Peroxide works better than Bleach.(99% effective vs. 95% effective in killing staph and bacteria). I would have naturally assumed that hospitals use Bleach, so this Peroxide news has peaked my curiosity.. (err I should have titled this "Bleach or Peroxide")

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

wow never thought of useing peroxide? what about alcohol i use 70% alcohol to clean catheters /bags are so forth . my olney gripe with bleach is that it leaves a reasdue that will not wash off fully

fyi--the peroxide used in disinfecting/sterilization is a highly concentrated form (in the micro lab i worked a 80% peroxide solution called sporklenz). the drug store version is 3% h2o2 and would likely not be nearly as effective as 70% isopropyl alcohol (which is a very effective disinfectant against many microbial organisms). the residue from bleach on a latex catheter could actually be a breakdown of the rubber hence why it doesn't wash off.

[Sugar-Phosphate]

I would recommend using some cavi-wipes for immediate disinfectant, but be VERY careful with bleach. Many chemicals that housekeepers use such as Virex, for normal cleaning, and Virox5, do not mix well with bleach. When mixed they release a chlorine gas, that is extremely harmful to yourself and your patients. I had a nurse do this once, and I flew into her, we had to evacuate px's from that room until it was ventilated enough. So I always caution bleach, unless you know what your housekeepers are using, and what kind of a reaction you will get. If you want the best cleaner, Virox5. This is the chemical of choice for terminal cleans on, for example: C.diff, norovirus, SARS, MRSA, TB, Chicken pox, etc.

I would not use peroxide, as was mentioned, is not very effective against some gram-negative bacteria etc.

For clarity, I would not use cavi-wipes on isolations, I would use Virox5, IF virox5 is not available, I would use EtOH, which kills all microoraganisms in biosafety level 2. Check with housekeeping if you are unsure what to use, read the label and MSDS.