SAN ANTONIO – With initial shortages and a rush to sanitize surfaces, people have been thinking outside the box when it comes to cleaning their home and work spaces.
Wipes and bleach flew off the shelves, leaving the internet to swirl with claims about other products capable of killing COVID-19.
Some are legitimate, others are not.
One claim in particular involves hydrogen peroxide.
Can it be used as a disinfectant? It’s a question many KSAT viewers have asked if it can be used as a disinfectant so we ran it through our KSAT Trust Index.
Our experts have a multi-faceted answer.
"Hydrogen peroxide is listed on the CDC's website," said Dr. Ruth Berggren with UT Health San Antonio's Long School of Medicine.
Dr Berggren said hydrogen peroxide can in fact kill COVID-19, but that doesn't mean it's the best thing to use.
After reviewing this topic, we've found some issues - Be Careful.
“3 percent hydrogen peroxide is what you can buy over the counter at a drug store. That’s is actually higher concentration than what you see in the disinfectants, the registered disinfectants are at 1.4 percent, so about half of that. So the potential risk you run with using that 3 percent that you can buy in the drug store, is that it can be corrosive. It might bleach surfaces, it may cause a breakdown of surfaces,” said University Health System hospital epidemiologist Dr. Jason Bowling.
Dr. Bowling said there are specific sprays you can buy that contain hydrogen peroxide in lower concentrations, and those are okay for your surfaces.
Dr. Berggren added the fact that the hydrogen peroxide that a lot of people keep under their cabinets for a while, can expire. That's one of the reasons she suggests sticking with alcohol or bleach.
"If you can't get alcohol, get bleach. I think bleach might have been in short supply back in April but it should be pretty readily available now. I just bought a gallon of bleach of my household last weekend and what you want to do is put five tablespoons of bleach in a gallon of water. Or you can to four teaspoons in a quart of water," she said.
So when it comes to using hydrogen peroxide as a COVID-19 disinfectant the KSAT trust index labels it, "Be Careful." It can work, but might ruin your stuff.
If you have a claim, picture or video you’d like us to check out, submit it to our KSAT Trust Index website.
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