If they can make soap that is so effective at killing 99.9% of the germs why is it that it cannkot seem to ever kill that .10th of a percent? What makes it that it cant kill that one germ. How does that single germ survive? I work at wal mart doing maintenace and I always tell people after I clean the bathrooms that they are 99.9% germ free but to watch out for that .10% cause I couldnt fine it and its somewhere in there and that is the germ that is going to make you sick.
2007-11-04 14:33:35 · 8 answers · asked by Tyler R 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Infectious Diseases
"99.9%" is marketing lingo for "this brand cannot claim 100% effectiveness".
In advertising, an ad must make a brand or product seem superior that's why marketers invented "99.9%". A brand or product cannot claim 100% effectiveness because there is no such thing. "99.9%" means that the brand or product is only almost-perfect but may not be able to effective for all applications or all the time. Moreover, any soap or cleaner or antibac spray is limited to the effectiveness of its active ingredient as well as its intended purpose and targeted harmfull microorganisms.
For example, the brand Lysol (which comes in various forms: cleaner, spray, liquid soap etc.) can only claim to kill 99.9% of germs. In reality it is effective against the germ Staphylococcus Aureus which is the most common germ that causes infectious disease.However, Lysol cannot claim to be effective 100% of the time (due to different factors), nor can it claim to be effective against 100% kinds of germs beacause such a chemical or substance is impossible to invent. But marketing and/or advertising can make Lysol look superior by saying that it can kill 99.9% of germs but actually the remaining 0.1% may not be exact or may be a bigger number that represents the broad scope which the product cannot gurantee total effectiveness (due to different factors such as usage, timing, duration, environment, etc.).
Therefore, "99.9%" doesn't mean that when you use the product, there is a 0.1% of the germs that's still out there. Rather, it means that there is a certain percentage that the product may not be effective in a given situation, a given time or a given set of germs to eliminate.
2007-11-04 15:07:27 · answer #1 · answered by t i g s 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To make soap, you need to combine an acid and a base (or alkali). The acid is fat (fatty acids and triglycerides), and the base is sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The mixture causes the fatty acids to separate from the triglycerides and fuse with the hydroxide ions, forming a salt that we call "soap." Soap has two main functions: •Decrease water's surface tension •Bind to dirt, oil and bacteria It can do these things because one part of the soap molecule is hydrophilic (water-binding) and the other is hydrophobic (water-repellent). The hydrophilic part allows the hydrophobic fatty acids to come into contact with other hydrophobic substances, such as the dirt on the surface that is being cleaned. When the grime adheres to the soap's fatty acids, it becomes encapsulated in droplets of water. Dirt, oil and bacteria are easily scrubbed off and washed away in this suspended state
2016-04-02 05:21:49 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nonthing is 100%. Yes germs can make you sick but your body fights most germs off before you know it. You should not be worried germs are every where.
2007-11-04 14:38:37 · answer #3 · answered by Monet 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe this is just marketing CYA. If they claimed 100%, and somehow one little germie got away, well everyone and their brother would be suing the manufacturer for false advertisement. That 0.1% keeps them out of trouble.
2007-11-04 14:46:10 · answer #4 · answered by mrthreee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As others have said, it marketing. Manufacturers cannot claim that their products are 100% effective. If they did, they would be open to lawsuits from people who got sick, etc.
2007-11-08 03:00:44 · answer #5 · answered by alynnemgb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Soap and normal disinfectants can't kill endospores, which are highly resistant "spores" that certain kinds of bacteria can make. Check it out, it's pretty interesting - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endospores
2007-11-04 14:45:31 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Germs are tough & sneaky! They evolve. Look at MRSA.
2007-11-04 14:37:57 · answer #7 · answered by Robert S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ITS NOT ABOUT KILLING THE GERMS, ITS ABOUT SENDING A MESSAGE !
so the .01% germ will warn the other germs that genocide happens there, :D
2015-09-19 15:41:57 · answer #8 · answered by Niko Estacio 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋