Coronavirus prevention: Why soap, sanitizer and warm water work against Covid-19 and other viruses

[Arkansas Granny]

Link to tweet

?s=19

[wryter2000]

1. Does soap actually kill the virus?

I figured it just washed the virus away and down the drain.

[Lochloosa]

2. That is what it does, but it's effective.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. It sounds as though soap destroys the outer layer or "skin" of the virus

which would make the virus ineffective. That's how I read it anyway.

ETA:

What does getting rid of that outer layer do to the germ?

"It physically inactivates the virus, so it can't bind to and enter human cells anymore," Wllliams said.

Just how soap accomplishes this feat is rather strange and fascinating science.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. It DOES kill. Virus protected by fatty layer until it is in the body. Soap breaks fat &

Soap breaks the lipids (fat) and disrupts the protein and RNA machinery that turns cells into virus factories.

[seleff]

7. Virus has a lipid membranous envelope

I’m a high school Chemistry teacher in a District that is closed. We have been feeding our kids with online enrichment lessons while we organize our remote learning for an indefinite period. One of our lessons is about the chemistry of soap and sanitizers and how they kill bacteria and inactivate viruses. The virus has a membranous outer layer (envelope) which the soap disrupts, much as it disrupts grease. It appears that the virus falls apart once the lipid is essentially dissolved and removed by soap and water.

[Beartracks]

8. The term used here is that it "inactivates" it. A virus isn't really "alive" in the first place...

... like a bacteria is. Without the fatty coating around the virus, it can't bind to human cells and gain entry. I presume without that protection, it ... falls apart? So, yeah, I guess you could say that, even if it was never truly alive, soap most certainly makes it dead.

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[wryter2000]

10. Wow

Thanks. What a brilliant group this is.

Others may have hoarded hand sanitizer, but I have lots of soap!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Dramatic demonstration video uses Black to show how to wash hands:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213164134

[KT2000]

5. this explains a lot - thanks

and I shared with a friend who thinks it is only necessary to use hot water and no soap for dish washing.

[StarryNite]

9. Very interesting!

Thank you for sharing.