The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Regarding "Sanitizing"

Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2003-04-07 14:28

Webby,
You are right, "sanitizing" is easy to do with any number of sprays or wipes. There is a problem however, many folks confuse sanitizing with sterilizing.

There is an actual definition of sanitizing and sterilizing accepted by authorities. A simplified version is that sanitizing is a process where you decrease the number of pathogenic microorganisms on a surface. Sterilizing is where you eliminate all viable pathogenic microorganism from a surface.

In short sanitizing is easy because it doesn't kill anything. You can sanitize to an extent by dipping a mouthpiece in alcohol, or soapy water etc. I am a dentist who uses sanitization on surfaces like counter tops and chairs. The strong stuff we use takes about ten minutes on a surface to work. The liquid sterilants available take around an hour or more to work.

Since you don't have an hour between kiddie tries forget sterilization. What does it mean when you say you have reduced the microorganism load on a mouthpiece? Maybe you will be less likely to transmit disease, but probably not. I used to laugh at a mouth wash company's ad which stated that the product reduced the amount of bacteria in the mouth. What does that mean when it only takes an hour or two for the bacteria count to return to pre-treatment levels?

Petting zoo is a cool idea, but don't fool yourself into thinking you are doing anything of value when you "sanitize" an object you pass from one child's mouth to another. In the awful event that four or five kids show up in a few days with "cold sores" in their mouth who will the school blame?

Just IMHO TH

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics

Author

Date

Instrument Petting Zoo new

Sarah

2003-04-05 21:07