The Efficacy of Common Household Cleaning Agents for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Control

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is having devastating effects on a global scale. Since common household disinfectants are often used to minimise the risk of infection in the home and work environment, we investigated the ability of some of these products to inactivate the virus. We tested generic brands of vinegar, bleach, and dishwashing detergent, as well as laboratory-grade acetic acid, sodium hypochlorite, and ethanol. Assays were conducted at room temperature (18-20 °C, 40% relative humidity), and two time points were used to reflect a quick wipe (30 s) and a brief soak (5 min). Vinegar, and its active ingredient, acetic acid, were completely ineffective at virus inactivation even when exposed to the virus at 90% v/v (a final concentration equivalent to 3.6% v/v acetic acid). In contrast, ethanol was capable of inactivating the virus at dilutions as low as 40% v/v. Dishwashing detergent effectively rendered SARS-CoV-2 inactive when diluted 100-fold (1% v/v). Bleach was found to be fully effective against SARS-CoV-2 at 0.21 g/L sodium hypochlorite after a 30 s exposure (1/200 dilution of commercial product). Given reports of infectious virus recovered from the surface of frozen packaging, we tested the persistence of infectiousness after multiple freeze-thaw cycles and found no change in infectious SARS-CoV-2 titre after seven freeze-thaw cycles. These results should help inform readers of how to effectively disinfect surfaces and objects that have potentially been contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 using common household chemicals.