How to Clean Surfaces of Norovirus and Other Germs

How to clean surfaces of norovirus and other germs is not as simple as many people are led to believe. Norovirus is a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that causes a majority of the non-bacterial outbreaks of gastroenteritis that affect people of all ages. Gastroenteritis, which is also commonly known as gastric flu, stomach flu (it is not actually influenza), and stomach virus, is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, involving both the stomach and the small intestine, which results in acute diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, sometimes accompanied by vomiting.

Many people mistakenly think that if they clean their home with common household cleaners, they will get rid of norovirus and other germs that cause illnesses. However, norovirus and many other germs are not destroyed by common household cleaners, and seemingly clean surfaces could actually be teeming with norovirus and other germs that are still capable of making people who come into contact with them sick. Even many chlorine based cleaners that kill the common cold and flu viruses, such as chlorine wipes, are ineffective against norovirus and many other germs, because the chlorine is not concentrated enough to inactivate norovirus and many other germs.

Fortunately, a whole new class of safe silver ion based household cleaners have been developed that use silver ions to effectively inactivate norovirus and many other viruses and germs, including bacteria and fungus. The silver ions deactivate structural and metabolic membrane proteins in viruses, bacteria, and fungus, leading to the microbial inactivation of viruses (viruses are not living organisms) and the death of bacteria and fungus. The virus, bacteria, and fungus microbes view the silver ion containing active ingredient in the cleaners as a food source, allowing the silver ions to enter their interior. Once inside the virus, bacteria, or fungus, the silver ions destroy the microbe’s DNA, which halts the virus, bacteria, and fungus’ ability to replicate and leads to inactivation or death, rendering them incapable of causing human illness.

Where do you find these new silver ion based household cleaners that ensure that when you clean an area, norovirus and many other germs have actually been inactivated or killed and no longer pose a health concern? They can be purchased on the Internet at websites such as Amazon.com, and are not commonly sold in many stores.

One widely available silver ion based household cleaner is PureGreen24, which is an extremely effective and safe silver ion based household cleaner that deactivates norovirus and many other viruses, bacteria, and fungus. PureGreen24 has a United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) IV toxicity rating; the lowest rating assigned by the USEPA. PureGreen24 is non-flammable, non-corrosive, and odorless. It does not give off fumes or cause skin irritation that is associated with traditional disinfectants. PureGreen24 is manufactured from silver ions, citric acid and purified water, and contains no alcohol, bleach, or other toxic ingredients.

PureGreen24 is applied to a surface with a spray bottle to rid it of viruses, bacteria and fungus, just as one would apply other common household cleaners. Although PureGreen24 is effective against some viruses, bacteria and fungus in as little as 30 seconds, it is a good idea to let PureGreen24 sit on a surface for ten minutes to allow it to reach its full potential of deactivating viruses and killing bacteria and fungus.

PureGreen24 is only currently available in spray bottles and in bulk containers. PureGreen24 is not currently available as wipes, despite consumer requests for convient PureGreen24 wipes. The company that markets PureGreen24 said that they are considering a version of PureGreen24 that can be delivered via wipes, but requlatory and manufacturing obstacles are standing in the way of producing PureGreen24 wipes.

PureGreen24 is effective against the following germs:

Bacteria: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Community Associated Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), Community Associated Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA-PVL), Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Acinetobacter baumannii and Campylobacter jejuni.

Fungus: Trichophyton mentagrophytes (which causes athlete’s foot).

Viruses: Herpes Simplex Type 1, Rotavirus, Human Coronavirus, Norovirus, Avian Influenza A, Influenza A Virus, Rhinovirus and Polio Virus Type 2, HIV Type 1.

Silver ion based cleaners such as Puregreen24 provide you the power to protect yourself and your family from norovirus and many of the common germs that cause people to get sick. Using silver ion based cleaners to effectively clean and inactivate norovirus and common germs is a prudent action to reduce the chances that you or your family will fall ill from norovirus and common germs that are present on surfaces within your home. It is important to understand how to clean surfaces of norovirus and other germs, and not waste time with ineffective cleaners.