Solution To Worries Regarding No Hand Washing Facilities On Delivery

sirchewey · Post by **sirchewey** » 29 Mar 2020, 20:29

I thought I would share this video I made on my solution to washing your hands whilst on delivery. It's simple and kills those pesky bastards that so many of us are worried about when we go about our outdoor work. If you have run out of hand sanitizer and don't have anywhere on your round that you can effectively wash your hands then this solution is for you. It costs about 50p a unit and you can batch make loads and hand them out to all your fellow Posties at your delivery office. You can reuse them throughout the day and rinse out once at home and recharge with fresh soap for the following day. Let me know what you guys think and how it's working out for you if you decide to use it.

Here's the video link: https://youtu.be/qf09mf_tbbI

If you want the science bit then click this link: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... infectants

NOTE: Safe hygiene practices advise against the re-use of cloths/sponges so re-use at your discretion. If you do, make sure both bag and sponge/cloth are clean before you re-use.

From NHS: Cloths and sponges:
-use disposable cloths or paper towels when possible
-reusable cloths should be disinfected or washed at 60C (140F) after each use

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-bo ... spreading/

Post by **POSTMAN** » 29 Mar 2020, 20:42

Looks like the idea of it makes sense, especially with antibacterial washing up liquid.

sirchewey · Post by **sirchewey** » 29 Mar 2020, 20:48

POSTMAN wrote:I can't hear him as the wife has the telly on but looks like the idea of it makes sense, especially with antibacterial washing up liquid.

It doesn't matter if it's antibacterial or not. The fact is that any soap-based product will effectively kill coronavirus by breaking up the fatty layer that surrounds the cell. The important fact is that you have to scrub your hands for 20 seconds before rinsing as this is the amount of time it takes for the cell wall of the virus to be broken down by the soap.

ssdd · Post by **ssdd** » 29 Mar 2020, 20:52

Thanks for this, and your video sirchewey. I said before you had some good ideas, and you've came up with the goods again.

This would certainly be more practical than having a separate bowl for washing.
I'm not 100% convinced that reusing the same sponge would not risk some contamination again, but according to the science it would seem as though the soap destroys the virus. Nice one sir..

sirchewey · Post by **sirchewey** » 29 Mar 2020, 21:00

ssdd wrote: Thanks for this, and your video sirchewey. I said before you had some good ideas, and you've came up with the goods again.

This would certainly be more practical than having a separate bowl for washing.
I'm not 100% convinced that reusing the same sponge would not risk some contamination again, but according to the science it would seem as though the soap destroys the virus. Nice one sir..

Thank you

It seems to be going down well in our office so far. Quite a few people are using the idea now but remember to use something that you are not allergic to.

I'm hoping that we can get offices around the country to sign up to the idea and nominate someone to get the supplies in to make up batches to reduce the footfall going into Tesco to buy the sandwich bags and sponges to make them up. It would also mean others can still buy as you end up with loads left over if you only need to make one.

ssdd · Post by **ssdd** » 29 Mar 2020, 21:14

Having thought about it, although it is a good idea, I don't really see any advantages with this, than to using a small bottle of soapy water (as others have suggested) and a bottle of fresh water to rinse. Is there a definite advantage with the bag method?

sirchewey · Post by **sirchewey** » 29 Mar 2020, 21:26

ssdd wrote:Having thought about it, although it is a good idea, I don't really see any advantages with this, than to using a small bottle of soapy water (as others have suggested) and a bottle of fresh water to rinse. Is there a definite advantage with the bag method?

Scrubbing and rubbing hands to effectively remove dirt which will aid in the removal of the virus. It also holds a more concentrated amount of soap. Just rinsing with soapy water would help but if you have dirt in the pores of your skin then the virus is far more likely to cling on. Having the bottle of clean water to rinse afterward is purely to take the soap off so isn't essential if you run out you will still have clean virus free hands just soapy ones.

PistolPete · Post by **PistolPete** » 29 Mar 2020, 21:32

sirchewey wrote:I thought I would share this video I made on my solution to washing your hands whilst on delivery. It's simple and kills those pesky bastards that so many of us are worried about when we go about our outdoor work. If you have run out of hand sanitizer and don't have anywhere on your round that you can effectively wash your hands then this solution is for you. It costs about 50p a unit and you can batch make loads and hand them out to all your fellow Posties at your delivery office. You can reuse them throughout the day and rinse out once at home and recharge with fresh soap for the following day. Let me know what you guys think and how it's working out for you if you decide to use it.

Here's the video link: https://youtu.be/qf09mf_tbbI

If you want the science bit then click this link: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... infectants

Brilliant - well done and thank you

ssdd · Post by **ssdd** » 29 Mar 2020, 21:54

sirchewey, I think you may need to clarify the source of this idea. If it's your own, I commend you with your lateral thinking.
However, safe hygiene practices advise against the re-use of cloths/sponges.

From NHS:

Cloths and sponges:
-use disposable cloths or paper towels when possible
-reusable cloths should be disinfected or washed at 60C (140F) after each use

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-bo ... spreading/

Granted, this is in relation to the cleansing of surfaces, and I'm not trying to 'rain on your parade', so to speak. Just don't want you to be guilty of posting advice that could be erroneous or even dangerous...

sirchewey · Post by **sirchewey** » 29 Mar 2020, 22:16

ssdd wrote:sirchewey, I think you may need to clarify the source of this idea. If it's your own, I commend you with your lateral thinking.
However, safe hygiene practices advise against the re-use of cloths/sponges.

From NHS:

Cloths and sponges:
-use disposable cloths or paper towels when possible
-reusable cloths should be disinfected or washed at 60C (140F) after each use

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-bo ... spreading/

Granted, this is in relation to the cleansing of surfaces, and I'm not trying to 'rain on your parade', so to speak. Just don't want you to be guilty of posting advice that could be erroneous or even dangerous...

Not raining on my parade at all - we're all in this together and a new perspective is always a great way of getting a best practice solution to this issue. I've updated the original post to contain this info as to clean the used sponges or to use new would be the best practice, thank you for your input.

sirchewey · Post by **sirchewey** » 29 Mar 2020, 22:26

ssdd wrote:sirchewey, I think you may need to clarify the source of this idea. If it's your own, I commend you with your lateral thinking.

The idea was bought to my attention by a customer who is a bio-chemist. We know the science stands about the soap regarding killing the virus and adopting a convenient way to take it with you on delivery could save lives with this particular virus. If you get ill from a dirty but soap laden cloth then it's unlikely to be a virus due to the breakdown of the fatty layers which surround most viruses including Sars-CoV-2. That being said, I wouldn't want anyone to become ill with anything so added your NHS advisory to the bottom of the original post.

ssdd · Post by **ssdd** » 29 Mar 2020, 22:29

sirchewey wrote:Not raining on my parade at all - we're all in this together and a new perspective is always a great way of getting a best practice solution to this issue. I've updated the original post to contain this info as to clean the used sponges or to use new would be the best practice, thank you for your input.

I totally agree. It's good to come up with ideas and information, discuss it, and hopefully arrive at some solutions. All the best...

Post by **POSTMAN** » 29 Mar 2020, 22:31

Respect to you 2 guys working it all out.

ssdd · Post by **ssdd** » 29 Mar 2020, 22:37

I would like some health professionals to see this, to get their opinion on it.