The Coronavirus pandemic continues to spread rapidly, there is more panic setting in among people. The number of infections is continuing to rise and it becomes highly important to properly sanitize your surroundings. People are looking for the best sanitisers, disinfectants, cleaning products to keep themselves and their surroundings germ-free. And it thus becomes necessary to know which is a safer and better option to sanitize. Most disinfectants that are being sprayed in and around the neighbourhood by sanitation workers have Sodium Hypochlorite. In this article, we will tell you if sodium hypochlorite is actually a safer option as a disinfectant, how is it different from Calcium Hypochlorite. And in times of dealing with Coronavirus crisis, which is a better option for humans? COVID-19 Prevention: How to Keep Your Home Free of Coronavirus Germs? All You Need to Know About Using Hydrogen Peroxide to Disinfect Surfaces.

Difference Between Sodium Hypochlorite and Calcium Hypochlorite

Calcium hypochlorite is an inorganic compound and its scientific formula is Ca(ClO)2. It is the main active ingredient of in products like bleaching powder, chlorine powder, or chlorinated lime, used for water treatment and as a bleaching agent. Compared to Sodium hypochlorite, it has a greater content of chlorine. It also has a very strong smell of chlorine and has to be used in hard water because it is not easily soluble.

Sodium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with the formula NaOCl or NaClO. Pale greenish-yellow in colour, it is commonly known as liquid bleach. It has been widely used in household cleaning as a disinfectant or a bleaching agent. Sodium hypochlorite is the oldest form of chlorine-based bleach. It has destaining properties, is thus used in cleaning products. It has also been used in laundry detergents and as a surface cleaner. Besides, it is widely used in healthcare facilities by diluting in water, depending on the purpose of usage.

Which is Safer Option During Coronavirus?

In light of the recent pandemic, authorities are disinfecting the streets with Sodium Hypochlorite during the sanitization drives. It is being sprayed in areas that have reported COVID 19 positive cases. This greenish-yellow solution of liquid bleach acts as a germ killer, effective against different viruses.

As per the CDC, Chlorine solutions (Cl2, NaOCL, Ca[OCl]2, ClO) have been used extensively as disinfectants and antiseptics since the 1800s. These solutions are oxidative chemicals and have broad-spectrum activity against a wide variety of microorganisms, including many viruses. While tackling the Ebola crisis, chlorine solutions of 0.5% were used for environmental surface disinfection. Chlorine solutions should not be used for routine hand hygiene, as they will eventually damage the skin. So as an alternative, prepare chlorine solutions from sodium hypochlorite.

Recently, Vietnam also developed mobile disinfection chamber system for humans. It uses dissolved sodium chloride in water which is used to quickly disinfect the body surface. That being said, it is also not right to spray people with directly with disinfectant as an act of sanitizing them from the disease. In India's Uttar Pradesh, a disinfectant solution made from bleaching powder was sprayed directly on the migrant workers. Such chemical disinfectants only work on surfaces and not on human body. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), putting disinfectant on the skin will not kill it if the virus is already in your body. One must be really careful while using the disinfectants.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2020 09:57 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).