Salt water as good as disinfectant wipes: Research
By JASMINE FRANKLIN, QMI Agency
Last Updated: March 16, 2011 5:24pm

Forget disinfectant wipes — a University of Alberta professor has found with the proper amount of swipes, a tissue covered in salt water is just as effective when it comes to killing bacteria.

Dr. Sarah Forgie, pediatric infectious diseases specialist in the Department of Pediatrics, and a team of researchers discovered that when it comes to plastic, using a saline solution properly can be as effective as disinfectant wipes.

"We were surprised. We thought saline would have little effect but it turns out there are big implications if you have the time to wipe," said Forgie. Forgie explained swiping plastic items at least three times with a tissue covered in salt water is as effective as one swipe with disinfectant wipes and actually has advantages.

"People can now save money and in fact, disinfectant wipes promote bacterial resistance — there is a reduced threat of resistance when people use saline," said Forgie. Forgie said the next steps will be to look at salt water and wipes on cellphones and pagers, as well as plain water on a tissue.

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