Our generation is all about cleaning products. Almost everywhere you go, there is a hand sanitizer station or disinfecting wipes to clean a surface or object. The environment around us is affected by all of these products, which poses the question: Is it good to be so clean?
When you think about the amount of different chemicals contained in cleaning products it is astonishing. When interviewing the Environmental Services staff that clean Schlosser Residence Hall, I saw the astronomical amount of products they used to clean the building. Nine products are used every day to cleanse, sanitize and disinfect the bathroom alone. One of the products that is used to clean toilets and sinks is called “Swabby Detergent.” This detergent keeps toilets and sinks white, eliminates stains on the sink and kills germs all at the same time. This detergent is used once or twice a week. The Environmental Services staff controls the number of times that they use this product, so there aren’t too many chemicals in the bathrooms. Swabby Detergent is one of the strongest products they use. Other products are used to clean the sinks and toilets on the other days that Swabby Detergent isn’t used.
When analyzing the ingredients in the various bathroom cleaners, I came across two common chemicals, dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and hydrogen chloride. Dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride acts as a treatment for bacteria that may be present. Hydrogen Chloride is an acid that is used to control germs. “Dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride is an organic molecule that has mostly a carbon structure,” sophomore chemistry major Melissa Peiffer said. “Hydrogen chloride is a really strong acid that has a pKa value of -3.9.” Both of these chemicals are very strong and are very likely to kill the majority of germs that may be present.
Eight other products are also used to clean bathrooms in residence halls on campus. A glass cleaner, floor cleaner, sanitizer for the bathtubs, mildew controller and deodorizer are only the start to the cleaning process at the College. All of these products combined keep germs and student illness to a minimum.
Let’s not forget to think of all the places we have hand sanitizer. We constantly use hand sanitizer to kill the germs and sanitize our hands on the go. Does hand sanitizer kill more good germs than bad germs, though? “This is just a theory; it is only one study. It isn’t even proven yet. No one can know for sure until it is proven,” Richard Papez, assistant professor in chemistry, said. “It’s good to be so clean about certain things. Time changes people’s beliefs of what is clean and what needs to be clean more. Years ago, people didn’t have a hand sanitizer in their car.”
Additionally, sanitization is key for keeping germs away in the classroom. It is more than just a cleaning product for us to use, but also a safety precaution for schools. “I definitely plan on using hand sanitizer in my future classroom. As a teacher, it is important to keep a healthy and clean environment where students can learn to the best of their ability,” middle level education major Ashley Testino said. “Hand sanitizer will let students be at minimal risk for sickness, and keep students in the classroom learning instead of at home sick.”
Cleaning products could take away some of the “good” germs, but at the same time, these products are killing most of the “bad” germs. Disease is kept to a minimum because of the various products that we use on a day to day basis. Our College environment is now shaped by cleaning products and avoiding as many germs and sicknesses as possible.