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posted by martyb on Sunday June 07 2020, @10:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the Dunning–Kruger-Effect-or-Darwin-Award-Candidates? dept.

Americans are drinking bleach and dunking food in it to prevent COVID-19:

Americans are doing more housecleaning and disinfecting amid the COVID-19 pandemic and many are turning to wild and dangerous tactics—like drinking and gargling bleach solutions.

Back in April, the agency noted an unusual spike in poison control center calls over harmful exposures to household cleaning products, such as bleach. The timing linked it to the spread of the pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (not statements by President Trump). But to get a clearer idea of what was behind the rise, CDC researchers set up an online survey of household cleaning and disinfection knowledge and practices.

In all, they surveyed 502 US adults and used statistical weighting to make it representative of the country's population. The findings—published Friday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report—are stunning.

Overall, 60 percent said they were doing more cleaning and disinfecting amid the pandemic and 39 percent admitted to doing at least one non-recommended cleaning practice the CDC considers high risk.

The questions and responses are fully available (NO paywall); read it here:

Journal Reference
Gharpure R, Hunter CM, Schnall AH, et al. Knowledge and Practices Regarding Safe Household Cleaning and Disinfection for COVID-19 Prevention, [OPEN] MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6923e2)

Questions from the survey:

Recommended Best Practices:

  • When making a dilute bleach solution, only room temperature water should be used
  • Bleach should not be mixed with vinegar
  • Hand sanitizers should be kept out of reach of children
  • Bleach should not be mixed with ammonia
  • For some household cleaning products, eye protection should be used during use
  • Hands should be washed with soap and water after using household cleaning products
  • For some household cleaning products, gloves should be used during use
  • Good ventilation (air flow) is needed when using cleaning chemicals
  • Household cleaning products should be kept out of reach of children

Risky Practices Performed:

  • Drank or gargled diluted bleach solution
  • Drank or gargled soapy water
  • Drank or gargled a household cleaner
  • Inhaled the vapor of household cleaners like bleach
  • Misted the body with cleaning spray or alcohol spray
  • after being in public spaces
  • Used household cleaner to clean or disinfect hands or bare skin
  • Washed fruits, vegetables, or other food products with bleach

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Username on Monday June 08 2020, @08:22AM (1 child)

    by Username (4557) on Monday June 08 2020, @08:22AM (#1004766)

    I found that two teaspoons of bleach per 5 gallon of water in a jerry can will keep green stuff from growing in it. I think the CDC lists one teaspoon per 5 gallons, but I think that from the tap and not rain water. I got about 20 of these nice 5 gal jerry cans that connect together lego style. Stacks up nicely against a wall. I used to cycle through them watering the chickens, until the tornado killed them. So that dosage isn't even enough to kill a chicken.

    Anyway, you can drink bleach. It doesn't smell appealing but it's better than dehydrating. Probably better to use pool shock, but that's used as a precursor for stuff that doesn't mix well with prepping. Unless you want some feds to pull a waco on you.

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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by stretch611 on Monday June 08 2020, @11:33AM

    by stretch611 (6199) on Monday June 08 2020, @11:33AM (#1004791)

    Anyway, you can drink bleach. It doesn't smell appealing but it's better than dehydrating. Probably better to use pool shock, ...

    Even better, add a little pool shock to some coke (or generic cola; not cocaine) Just make sure that the pool shock contains calcium hypochlorite. (Don't use "stabilized" chlorine for this.)

    Disclaimer... do not do the above... it is a very serious chemical reaction.
    I am not a chemist... (just a computer geek that worked in a pool store while going to school 30 years ago.)
    and like the dumb kid I was in college... I had to try it... even a small teaspoon amount added to little more then backwash in a nearly empty 2 liter bottle of cola lead to a violent reaction back then.

    --
    Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P