Talking about soaps, sanitizers, and disinfectants

Bacteria are present in everything we touch. With the right conditions, these miniscule organisms can reproduce by millions in a matter of hours. They are mostly found on doorknobs, mobile phones, keyboards, etc… A healthy person has a normal, perfectly balanced, concentration of millions of bacteria in their body, the problem lies when that balance is broken.

Perhaps the oldest product for hygiene that is still used among us is soap. The basic ingredients of soap have not changed. Saponification is the mix of fats, oils, and an alkali like sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) that produce a chemical reaction. The oils and fats are heated with the alkali to form a type of sodium salt of the carboxylic acid and release the alcohol glycerol. These salts of the acids are what we know as soap. Many of the ingredients that traditional soaps have, especially in developed markets, are substituted for synthetic surfactants (compounds that make up detergent).

One thing they all have in common, if used correctly, is that they dissolve the lipid membrane of a virus or bacteria. For example, when rubbing and running water over hands simultaneously, these organisms can be deactivated and removed.

According to the scientific community, the next pandemic was a matter of when, rather than if. I never imagined that I would be living through the middle of one, not as large in terms of death than the one that occurred a century ago. From my point of view the main reason for this paper is to encourage good practice through all the facilities and places where hygiene is seriously considered. If you are an office manager in a doctor’s office or a maintenance supervisor in a large facility, the importance of these parameters is the same. After so many years, the basic practices to avoid contamination have not changed, and again, like during these times a century later some people are still trying to confuse the facts from the reality.

Soap, sanitizers, and disinfectants are all so common that we forget their importance in our daily life. Some of the soaps or sanitizers we use depend on the field we are in. Many manufactures have improved the systems for dispensing their product. Today’s commercial soaps and sanitizers are sealed in sterile bags to avoid cross contamination, the idea is receiving the liquid or foam in our hands without being in contact with any part of the dispensing system.

The combination of the latter with the use of paper towels for the drying of the hands and a periodical procedure to keep the surfaces free of contaminants using disinfectants, has been proven to reduce the absentee rate of personnel in the workplace as The Journal of occupational medicine states: “Providing a comprehensive, targeted, yet simple to execute hand hygiene program significantly reduced the incidence of health care claims and increased employee workplace satisfaction.”.

Disinfectants are especially effective against a large range of viruses, spores, and bacteria. No cleaning system works without constant supervision and appropriate guidelines. The methods developed by professionals in the industry give us the right results when followed. It is important to encourage everyone to practice good habits when cleaning their hands at the places they live and work because our health depends on it.

Our company is a bridge that can guide yours through an extensive variety of soaps, sanitizers, and disinfectants. The goal is to supply the right products and make sure they work properly all the time. We supervise the installations and visit periodically to ensure our products are working properly while following local and federal regulations.

If you are looking for the solution that best fits your industry or simply looking for an impartial recommendation, please let me know. If you want, you can schedule a phone call with me at your earliest convenience (link) or send an email to victor@victorferia.com.

I am just waiting for you to begin the conversation.