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Comment by mc32 | Hacker News Reader

I think they’re still in stock at _some_ Home Depots. At least last I checked.

In any case, an N95 mask is insufficient if you don’t cover eyes as well and don’t use IPA70/Sporklenz or similar after touching any common surface. 10% bleach should also work but it’s nastier (to skin and materials).

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0 inventory at Home Depot, Lowes, Harbor Freight, etc. Hand sanitizer sold out at almost all retailers in the major city I live in too, I managed to snag some from a store people wouldn't think of (office depot). I have a few N95 masks, but I bought them ages ago and I'd be using them for painting or grinding metal, not the virus.

> IPA70/Sporklenz

OK, searching on that term brings up an impressive number of PDF data sheets.

IPA70 seems to mean Isopropyl Alcohol, 70%.

Sporklenz no idea but it conjured up images of a European Homer Simpson repping cleaning products as _Mr. Sporklenz._ (Herr Sporklenz?)

https://www.sterislifesciences.com/products/surface-disinfec...

> Spor-Klenz® Ready-to-Use Sterilant

> cleanroom disinfectant, sterilant and sporicidal cleaner

Ah...got it. Thank you.

> Odor: Vinegar

Ewww. Hope it's not too bad. I wouldn't want a strong vinegar smell in my clean room.

Also interesting:

"Spor-Klenz RTU sterilant was found to be effective against mouse hepatitis virus, minute virus of mice, murine norovirus, murine para influenza virus type 1 (Sendai) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) when tested according to EPA guidelines undiluted for 10 minutes at 20°C (68°F) exposure. Spor-Klenz RTU sterilant was found to be effective against mouse parvovirus when tested according to EPA guidelines undiluted for 25 minutes at 20°C (68°F). Treated surfaces must remain completely immersed for 25 minutes."

That hyphenation makes a lot more sense, I was parsing it as 'spork-lenz'

Yup, me too. Something sounding like "spore cleanse" makes a lot more sense in this context than "spork lens".

Fork, spoon, and magnifier all in one! Sporklenz!

Not sure about Sporklenz but yes IPA70 is referring to an Isopropyl Alcohol solution of 70% isopropyl alcohol. Higher concentrations are also effective but above 75% you risk burn or excessive drying upon direct skin contact. FWIW, a 99% concentration will very quickly pick up atmospheric moisture and stabilize closer to 96% in all but the most dry of environments.

> Not sure about Sporklenz but yes IPA70 is referring to an Isopropyl Alcohol solution of 70% isopropyl alcohol. Higher concentrations are also effective but above 75% you risk burn or excessive drying upon direct skin contact. FWIW, a 99% concentration will very quickly pick up atmospheric moisture and stabilize closer to 96% in all but the most dry of environments.

During a previous outbreak that led to hand sanitizer getting hard to find/expensive, I just dumped a bunch of 70% rubbing alcohol into my existing bottle once it gets half empty.

50-70% IPA is actually a more effective disinfectant than 99%; the water helps it penetrate cell walls, I'm told.

The water slows down the evaporation letting it linger long enough to be useful (at least that's what I think I read). Either way, 70% is gentler on skin. 90%+ is great for cleaning oily stains and whatnot.

The chemistry is kind of interesting. If you distill isopropyl alcohol, you can't get more concentrated than 91% because it forms an azeotrope. That is, if you try to distill 91% isopropyl alcohol, the vapors are also 91% concentration, so distillation doesn't get you any further. Thus, 91% isopropyl alcohol is a common product. Similarly, ethanol forms an azeotrope at 95% concentration, so you can't distill higher than that. This is why, for instance, Everclear has a 95% alcohol concentration. (You can produce higher concentrations, of course, but it requires a more expensive process than distillation.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azeotrope

>10% bleach should also work but it’s nastier

You mean concentrated (~5%) bleach that's been diluted 1:10, so it's ~0.5% bleach, right?

Something that was actually 10% strength would be way too strong for cleaning.

Yes, true. The stuff you get for the laundry load at home should be about 1:9 water. But it loses potency over a few days.

Right: mix your diluted bleach solutions at least daily

If bleach gets hard to find, some varieties of Pool Shock are basically highly concentrated (around 70%) dry bleach. The one you need for that is calcium hypochlorite. Just add water to get the desired proportion.

This is also a lot cheaper than buying liquid bleach.

Is there a higher level than N95 that filters more airborne particulates or is that entering HEPA filter territory and impossible to breath through such dense material.

I've heard N100 would be the next best thing, but I'm not sure.

What about the 60% alcohol content hand sanitizer I'm seeing?

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