Soap as good as disinfectant

Sydney, April 28 (IANS) A study has dispelled myths about the need for daily use of chemical disinfectants in childcare centres.

Swinburne Faculty of Life and Social Sciences researchers, Louise Dunn and Enzo Palombo, conducted a pilot project that aimed to determine safer, healthier and more sustainable ways to clean.

'The project aimed to promote using low-harm, biodegradable, green substances in cleaning without having to add such things as vinegar or bi-carbonate soda,' said Dunn.

To assess the efficiency of green cleaning methods two childcare centres were asked to clean using their normal cleaning products and then using a biodegradable substance such as soap and water.

'We found that there was no difference in the reduction of bacteria when using a plant-based detergent diluted with warm water and other cleaning products such as disinfectants.'

'Childcare centres are used to cleaning with a range of substances, but in order to reduce the impact on the environment, using warm soapy water without all the other add-ons works just as well,' said Dunn.