How do you know which disinfectant products kill coronavirus?

The thermal fogging and outdoor misting processes are a means of distributing disinfectant and thus their effectiveness is dependent on the disinfectant used during the process.

As this strain is so new, samples of SARS-CoV-2 have not been readily available in commercial laboratories for extensive testing of the efficacy of disinfectant products. So how do we know which disinfectants will be effective against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19? It is necessary to look to previous similar strains and other, harder to kill viruses.

Broadly, coronaviruses are what is known as enveloped viruses which are easy to kill when the envelope that protects their genetic material is attacked. Extensive testing has been conducted against various previous strains and because we know that SARS-CoV-2 is a human coronavirus that is relatively easy to kill, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has established the following criteria in determining whether a disinfectant product is expected to kill SARS-CoV-2:

· It has been tested as effective against other human coronaviruses; or

· It has been tested effective against harder to kill viruses

Disinfectants that meet either of these criteria are recommended for use by the US EPA against SARS-CoV-2. You can refer to the US EPA website for more information: https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/how-does-epa-know-products-list-n-work-sars-cov-2

Many products on the EPA’s list of products for use against SARS-CoV-2 share common active ingredients such as thymol, DDAC and other quaternary ammonium compounds, hydrogen peroxide and ethanol among others. Generally speaking, broad spectrum disinfectants are recommended.

Our disinfectants that meet these criteria and we’re happy to provide lab test reports upon request.

We advise that you ask your service provider for proof that the disinfectants they use meet the EPA’s criteria and to see a material safety data where you should take note of any potentially hazardous ingredients.