HOCl-Based Hand Sanitizers (Part 2)

Story At-A-Glance

• An HOCl-based Hand Sanitizer with a neutral pH can very quickly and safely kill common germs found on the hands.

Sanitizing Your Hands

In Part 1 of HOCl-Based Hand Sanitizers, an in-vitro study was cited which showed how quickly and effectively HOCl can kill common germs found on the skin. Click here to review. Part 2 will provide even greater detail regarding why HOCl-Based Hand Sanitizers are so effective.

The following germ types are what someone may wish to sanitize from his or her hands: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus hirae, and Candida albicans.¹ A 2019 study researched the effectiveness of electrolyzed water (EW) for killing the germs commonly found on the hands.² A previous article on electrolyzed water explains the relationship of HOCl to EW. Click here to review. In this particular study, researchers created a variety of EWs at different pH levels and chlorine concentrations.³ They discovered that all EWs that had a pH below 7 were effective in killing the germs commonly found on the hands.⁴ Furthermore, they found that EW with a neutral pH was extremely effective at killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus hirae, and Candida albicans.⁵ It killed 100% of these three germ types within one minute.⁶

Safety

The researchers conducting the 2019 study also performed various tests to determine the safety of EW and HOCl.⁷ They learned that all EWs which were quite effective at killing the targeted germs did so without causing skin irritation, mucous membrane irritation, and eye irritation.⁸ What they concluded was EWs can kill germs, while at the same time, they were extremely safe to use.⁹ 

Conclusion

The more one researches, the more one must conclude that an HOCl-based Hand Sanitizer with a neutral pH can kill common germs found on the hands very quickly and safely.