Do water based sanitisers really work?
With the increasing focus on health and cleanliness here is much talk about the effectiveness of differing types of sanitisers, and rightly so! There is real and growing concern over unsubstantiated claims made by dubious manufactures promoting effectiveness and or and safety.
Consequently the general expert advice is to use a alcohol based sanitiser at a concentrate of at least 70% or household bleach (5% solution of Sodium Hypochlorite) at a concentrate of 1:100
The World Health Organisation experts say that soap and water, alcohol and bleach are effective at killing the COVID-19 virus, however there are obvious difficulties using these products in many situations: when you’re out shopping or working constant hand washing with soap and water is impractical, for bleach to work effectively concentrates need to be high which can be damaging to your skin, eyes and airways. Alcohol when used frequently in such high concentrate can also dry your skin. Any chemical you put on your skin enters your body almost immediately and in some people can cause allergic reaaaction. Some people simply can't use these products and others are actively seeking safer alternatives for their families and some religions cannot use alcohol.
In Asia the population has been through similar viral outbreaks SARS, Bird flu, Swine flu and have widely adopted a safer sanitising technology in Hypochlorous Acid Water (HOCl). The technology is based on lowering the pH level of pure water to a weak acidic state of pH 5.0 to 6.5. In this range the free available chlorine (FAC) in solution is 80-120 times more potent than bleach. NZ tap water generally has a neutral pH of around 8:0 so Hypochlorous Acid water in its weak acidic state is still safe for people. Because of it’s lowered pH, HOCL at 40ppm (0.004%) is more effective than bleach at 1:100 (500pmm Sodium Hypochlorite) and as effective alcohol without the side effects.
This chemistry and killing power of Hypochlorous acid water, discovered by French chemist Antoine Jérôme Balardand in 1834 and was subsequently used as wound treatment up to the first world war.
The constraint to wider adoption was the ability to keep the water’s lowered pH level stable in a bottle for extended periods. Past applications have been on a “make and use” basis similar to the ozone water technology used in many industrial applications today. In 1998 a company in Japan put their chemistry and engineering skills to work and invented a process that can modify pure water into HOCl in a stable form that will last at least 12 months if stored in an appropriate light proof container. Bleach solutions and HOCl are susceptible to UV light and heat above 25degC so appropriate storage is vital to maintain their potency.
Spraysafe NZ Ltd has, with the inventors approval, installed a machine and bottling plant in Auckland. New Zealand water is perfect for manufacturing HOCl as it is some of the purest in the world. The manufacturing process starts with stripping all impurities from the water to then generate the finished product.
The chemical makeup of Spraysafe is quite remarkable yet well founded and we know there is a great deal of trust required to use Spraysafe as there is no odour, no stinging hands or wounds, no red eyes or itching skin to tell you there is a chemical at work.
So here’s what we do at Spraysafe to give our customers confidence and to ensure the contents of every bottle has the killing power promised.
Our product has been Independently tested in NZ by Eurofins and is proven to eliminate 99.99% of germs and bacteria.
Our product has been approved by MPI for use in the food industry as a hand and surface sanitiser.
We undertake constant monitoring of the Hypochlorous Acid Water throughout the manufacturing process to check pH and ppm levels.
We increase the ppm to 60 and pH to 5 so that when the bottle is opened it will maintain its potency for months.
Our bottles are thicker than most and a dark colour to protect from UV light.
We date stamp every bottle with the bottling date so you know when it should be used by.
We shrink wrap every bottle so that you know you are getting the real thing.
At Spraysafe we have done everything we can to ensure our product is safe and effective for everyone.
Please contact us for more information. We are looking for distribution partners or you can buy online for your family. As an essential service, we are open and able to deliver to your home.