Virus Transmission Question.

[BrassavolaStars]

Hello all,

If I wash my hands with dish soap and Clorox bleach spray (the foaming one that is ~2% sodium hypochlorite), is that enough to disinfect them from viruses?

I am concerned because I handled one plant which had sap on the surface which got on my hands, then washed my hands with the soap and bleach, then handled another plant. My thumbnail cut/indented into one of the roots when I was picking up this other plant which is what is concerning me. I did not aggressively scrub my hands with the cleaning mixture, but would lightly washing with that stuff have been enough to rid my hands of any virus?

[Roberta]

While nothing is 100%, I think the odds of your having residual virus on your hands after that washing are very low. And that assumes that the plant was virused. If the plant in question was healthy, the chances of any spread drops to zero. So I think you can relax... In general, you probably don't need the bleach (rough on the hands) .. better to just do a thorough washing with soap and water ("sing the alphabet song twice while you're doing it" is, I think the recommendation to make sure you do it for long enough... if it's good enough for disinfection for human cooties it should be sufficient for plant viruses )

A suggestion... disposable gloves are really cheap. Especially when working on messy plants, if you glove up, you'll also do your hands a favor.

[Dimples]

Definitely ditch the use of bleach, or any other cleaners not specifically made for skin, on skin. Bleach saponifies the top layer of your skin. That’s what happens to fats in contact with lye in the soap making process. Don’t turn your skin into soap!

Soap and water + a nail brush will remove everything from your hands, but gloves are a good idea if your concerned about virus transmission.

[BrassavolaStars]

Originally Posted by Roberta

While nothing is 100%, I think the odds of your having residual virus on your hands after that washing are very low. And that assumes that the plant was virused. If the plant in question was healthy, the chances of any spread drops to zero. So I think you can relax... In general, you probably don't need the bleach (rough on the hands) .. better to just do a thorough washing with soap and water ("sing the alphabet song twice while you're doing it" is, I think the recommendation to make sure you do it for long enough... if it's good enough for disinfection for human cooties it should be sufficient for plant viruses )

A suggestion... disposable gloves are really cheap. Especially when working on messy plants, if you glove up, you'll also do your hands a favor.

The first plant in question that I handled was a grocery store Phal. It is very ill, but with cold damage (this caused some leaves to fall and sap to be present on the surface of the plant). After I handled it, I washed my hands and then tried to repot a very rare cattleya that had fallen over. When I picked it up, I kind of cut a root with one of my fingernails. This is the plant I am worried I could have infected.

---------- Post added at 08:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Dimples

Definitely ditch the use of bleach, or any other cleaners not specifically made for skin, on skin. Bleach saponifies the top layer of your skin. That’s what happens to fats in contact with lye in the soap making process. Don’t turn your skin into soap!

Soap and water + a nail brush will remove everything from your hands, but gloves are a good idea if your concerned about virus transmission.

I am worried about the nails as I think water may have just run over them rather than being fully scrubbed + that is what punctured the root. That said, I do not think I got any sap on my nails.

I remember that bleach is an unstable mishmash of compounds that react with fat to create soap. I just have no regard for my own safety and never use PPE. I once sprayed Imidacloprid in my greenhouse with all the vents closed with no PPE and after 10 minutes of spraying, I noticed my lungs felt ticklish. I had to run out and could not stop coughing for a good 15 minutes. The 2nd time I did something like that was spraying malathion and got it over around 35% of my body.

[Roberta]

I'd say that gloves would be a high priority... the PPE stands for "Plant Protective Equipment" - even if you don't do it for you, do it for your plants! And moisten perlite before you mix it into the medium or at least stand upwind. The stuff is silica and it makes fine dust. Not something you want in your lungs, since it doesn't clear out the way fumes do.

[BrassavolaStars]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I'd say that gloves would be a high priority... the PPE stands for "Plant Protective Equipment" - even if you don't do it for you, do it for your plants! And moisten perlite before you mix it into the medium or at least stand upwind. The stuff is silica and it makes fine dust. Not something you want in your lungs, since it doesn't clear out the way fumes do.

I should probably buy some. Now this virus thing is going to be on my mind for months though. It is a heirloom cattleya that would not be easy to get again. I think it is a Rlc. Memory Lane 'White Satin' so I really hope I did not infect it.

[Roberta]

i think your odds are pretty good. You did wash, and the damage was to a very small area. A teachable moment... use gloves. They're cheap insurance.

[estación seca]

Taiwanese Phal mass growers of stock supplied to most supermarkets work very hard not to have virus in their stock. I would not worry at all.

[Fairorchids]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Taiwanese Phal mass growers of stock supplied to most supermarkets work very hard not to have virus in their stock. I would not worry at all.

This is contrary to what I hear. The primary reason being that in Taiwan, the growing process is not by a single grower. There are separate companies dealing with:

• Flasking
• Compotting
• First individual pot
• Final individual pot

[Leafmite]

If you are really worried, go and snip off the root that you accidentally knicked so any potential virus cannot travel through the plant. It takes time for the virus to divide in cells and move through the plant and if you remove the root immediately, you will probably be fine. Peace of mind.

---------- Post added at 08:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:04 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

Taiwanese Phal mass growers of stock supplied to most supermarkets work very hard not to have virus in their stock. I would not worry at all.

I heard that they did a bunch of testing and burning of orchids to try to eradicate virus. A longtime grower and vendor of orchids (died many years ago) said that Hausermann's did the same when they first heard of orchid viruses...tested all their orchids and spent days burning the ones that tested positive.

Unfortunately, plant viruses are everywhere and it is really difficult to ensure that plants never get infected. I grow a variety of plants and, now, the orchids are just a part of the collection. I do not test the orchids as I am not selling orchids or other plants to others. If a properly tended plant/orchid does not thrive, I toss it.