Re: bleach and ammonia (was Re: Cutting boards and vegetarians) | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: administration (adminmoonland.com) | |
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2000 21:23:17 -0700 (MST) |
I am terribly sorry to be so sticky about this subject?most of you got probably quite tired of it. But I feel I have to clarify a few more things. I received a couple of private letters and am now very worried about it. Apparently, at least some (but could be many?) people in North America believe that bleach is not only an acceptable sterilizing agent but is actually far superior to boiling water. I know, I sometimes make muddy statements that may be difficult to understand. When I said that I remembered my mother boiling water for hours, I didn?t mean to say she was boiling baby bottles. My mother was sterilizing her syringes. We didn't have disposable needles and she didn't trust oral antibiotics (or maybe they were not available either.) She is a hospital-trained pediatrician and she kept me on a steady supply of antibiotics, and maybe some other stuff. I remember times where my thighs were completely covered with black bruises. Anyway, the people who wrote to me, dip their babies? bottles and rubber nipples in bleach. That makes me very scared. I mean no disrespect here, and please, forgive me if you feel it is wrong to bring these private letters up. I believe we all, to a different extend, end up being victims of misinformation. Boiling nipples, bottles, and toys for 10 minutes is ALL that is needed to make them safe for your children. Bleach, on the other hand, a) is not safe, b) will probably corrode plastic and rubber, and 3) will NOT clean as well as 100o centigrade. If you don't believe me, call your public health nurse, bottle manufacturer, or a pediatrician. As far as protection against virulent bugs, like AIDS, is concerned: a) they don?t get transmitted thru food and other kitchen contact (unless you are planning on cutting yourself regularly there), b) "dipping" in bleach, even full strength, will NOT kill those viruses ? not enough surface contact for one thing. You can call your local dentist and ask him/her if they dip their equipment in bleach before putting it into your mouth as part of their anti AIDS and hepatitis routine. I am sure, there are tons of publications on the WWW on microbiology with chapters relating to sterilizing. In my previous post, I was trying (maybe unsuccessfully) to point out that no matter how strong the bactericidal properties (germ killing power) of a particular substance may be, a great amount of time is usually required to actually kill enough of the germs. (Though there are some very sophisticated machines, available now, that do it quickly. My husband has a little bowl in his office, filled with some transparent little pellets, and he does dip his instruments in there ? some sort of radiation, I didn?t get which one. He says it kills viruses ? perhaps it does. . .) best wishes Helen Toronto, Riverdale
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bleach and ammonia (was Re: Cutting boards and vegetarians) Howard Landman, January 20 2000
- Re: bleach and ammonia (was Re: Cutting boards and vegetarians) Fred H. Olson, January 21 2000
- Re: bleach and ammonia (was Re: Cutting boards and vegetarians) administration, January 21 2000
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