Leading Cleaning Products Called Effective Against Virus That Causes COVID-19

The active ingredients in many top-selling cleaning solutions and hygiene disinfectants are nearly 100% effective in killing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to investigators with a company called RB, which manufactures a slew of such cleaning products.

In a research letter published today in the American Journal of Infection Control, the investigators say that “to date, virucidal activity against SARS-CoV-2 has not been demonstrated definitively through testing conducted per standardized surface and suspension.” They add that they provide such evidence in their research letter, saying that the microbicidals ethyl alcohol, para-chloro-meta-xylenol (PCMX), salicylic acid; and quaternary ammonium compounds kill 99.9% of coronaviruses. 

In fact, say investigators, viruses like SARS-CoV-2 are some of the most vulnerable pathogens to the microbicidal agents in many detergents and cleaning solutions, including soaps for personal care and liquid hand washes. 

“Inactivation of such viruses by formulated microbicidal actives and detergents is believed to occur as a result of disruption of the virally modified, host-cell-derived, phospholipid bilayer glycoproteinaceous envelope and the associated spike glycoproteins that interact with the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) receptor required for infection of host cells,” the research letter states.

Bruce Charlesworth, MBChB, RB’s chief medical officer, said in a press release that: “Our hope is that these findings will be useful to the infection prevention and control community in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a positive development and is fully consistent with our expectations. We will continue to develop scientific evidence to support our product portfolio to enable effective, science-led communication around hygiene.”

The research letter states that “all of the microbicidal actives were effective for inactivating SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating ≥3.0 to ≥4.7 log₁₀reduction of infectious virus within the tested 1 to 5 minutes contact time in virucidal efficacy testing conducted per applicable ASTM International and EN standards.”

RM manufactures a slew of cleaning products including Lysol, Durex, Finish, Vanish, Harpic, Cillit, Bang, Enfamil, Nutramigen, Nurofen, Strepsils, and Gaviscon.