Do antibacterial wipes just move germs around?

How clean is your home? If you mop up the kitchen and bathroom with an antibacterial wipe, it may not be quite as clean as you think.

Antibacterial wipes sound like the ideal answer to getting rid of germs in the home. They're convenient, easy to use, and disposable. But can you be sure they are doing the job?

British microbiologists looked to see how effective antibacterial wipes are at killing bacteria in hospitals. Researchers were particularly interested to see how they coped with "superbugs" like MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which is a big problem in many hospitals.

The results were disconcerting. Reporting their findings at the American Society for Microbiology conference in Boston, MA, the biologists said the wipes they tested were unable to kill MRSA and other bacteria.

Most brands of wipes were good at removing germs from a surface, but the germs then survived on the cloth. So if the cloth was re-used to clean another surface, the bacteria just spread from one place to another.

What you need to know

You may not need to worry about MRSA in your kitchen or bathroom. But you'll still want to be sure that your food preparation surfaces are free from germs. You could go back to old-fashioned hot, soapy water, which does the job well. But if you want to use wipes, only use one cloth for each surface and then dispose of it. Otherwise, you could be just redistributing your germs around your home.

—Anna Sayburn, patient editor, BMJ Group

ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.

Comments

[Dan A. Andrews MD]

I think one needs to keep in mind that living in a sterile envirenment is a lousy idea. There's strong evidence that children raised under such conditions don't have as good immune systems as those with more exposures. Sterile cooking surfaces are one thing but floors and walls may not be such a good idea.

[Barbara Staib]

Bacteria also breed in dirty mop heads. For a remedy to this problem, use mops with cloth wipes that can be removed and washed in the washing machine between uses. A combination of detergent and dryer heat will kill germs that accumulate during use. These reusable mops are also environmentally friendly, because unlike Swiffers that need to be thrown away after being used, these can be used over and over again.