Mistakes You’re Making with Antibacterial Wipes

Careful cleaning

People can’t get enough antibacterial wipes right now as they’re reevaluating their cleaning regimens. Even the less-germophobic of us might be scrubbing down every surface in our homes. But… should we? Of course, it’s important to keep things clean, but if you’re making any of these mistakes with antibacterial wipes, you could be sabotaging your cleaning process.

Using it for more than one thing

It may seem less wasteful, not to mention easier, to use a single wipe on several different things; for instance, using only one or two wipes to clean your whole kitchen. But there are a couple of reasons you shouldn’t do this. “One wipe should be used per area,” says Kathy Turley, director of marketing at Home Clean Heroes. “You don’t want to use the same wipe to clean the toilet handle and then use it on the front doorknob.”

Not reading the label

We know, labels are boring. But reading the label on your antibacterial wipes can help you use it to greatest effect. The label reveals “how long the product must remain wet on a surface to inactivate all the bugs,” something you’ve probably never even thought about, explains Karen Daw, dental and medical OSHA and Infection Control coach and speaker. She says that in many cases, the surface should remain wet for at least three to four minutes to kill the germs on the surface, and the label will specify that.

Flushing it down the toilet

This mistake has been especially prevalent recently, as people have been short on toilet paper and resorting to using other things—like wipes. You certainly can use wipes, but throw it away rather than flushing it down the toilet. Yes, even throw away the wipes if the packaging says “flushable.” And, though we just said reading the label is important, this is one part of the label that you can and should ignore,The wipes are thicker than toilet paper and don’t break down as easily, and can get caught up in the pipes,causing potential blockages,overflow!

Using it on your phone screen

Antibacterial wipes shouldn’t be used on everything. While cleaning your electronics is certainly important, using antibacterial wipes on it could actually be damaging. “While the wipes are generally safe to use on your keyboards, they should be used on the back or non-glass parts of your phones only,” explains Turley. “The chemicals in the wipes can break down the coating on screens that is supposed to prevent fingerprint marks.

Using it on wood

Antibacterial wipes can damage wooden surfaces; there are no two ways to say it. “Any kind of wood flooring or furniture you own should not be cleaned with antibacterial wipes,” explains licensed health coach Jamie Bacharach. This is because the porous wood can absorb the liquid from the wipes, damaging it. “These wipes may leave behind a stain and, unless otherwise specified, are typically not designed for use with wood.

Using it on visibly dirty surfaces

This might sound strange at first since cleaning is its entire purpose. But if you use it on a space that’s actively dirty, you could just end up pushing the dirt around. Removing dirt from surfaces should be a different process than disinfecting with wipes. “A dirty surface makes it more difficult to disinfect,” explains Daw

https://www.rd.com/home/cleaning-organizing/antibacterial-wipes-mistakes/