COVID Could COVID Travel from Car Trunk into Main Car Area from Drive-Up?

[kyphysics]

Freezing temperature of what?

water...this is a good question, as I see bleach freezes at 19F

We won't hit that (not even close), but I do wonder if the chemical properties of bleach sort of diminish from just being in the 30'sF?

 

[Keith_McClary]

bleach freezes at 19F

That's -7C. It's colder than that here. I will do the experiment if someone will volunteer to clean up the mess!

 

[russ_watters]

water...this is a good question, as I see bleach freezes at 19F

Yep. Love google.

We won't hit that (not even close), but I do wonder if the chemical properties of bleach sort of diminish from just being in the 30'sF?

No, it doesn't work that way. As a solution it freezes at 19F, period. That means nothing happens at 32F.

 

[mfb]

Freezing is not the only thing that can happen to a liquid. I don't know what could happen in bleach, but just pointing out that it doesn't freeze doesn't mean anything.

As an example, eggs don't boil (or freeze) when you cook them, but clearly they change their state. More generally, you can get chemical reactions (rare when cooling down something), mixtures of substances can un-mix above/below certain temperatures and so on.

 

[hutchphd]

For @kyphysics: I am pleased to meet someone more meticulous about COVID -19 than I am. Keep up the good work. Few thoughts

1. This virus has a lipid layer that hates detergents. For sealed food a good wash in detergent water is probably the safest and least toxic solution.
2. Chlorox is very corrosive to metals so be careful where you use it. Alcohol is less so. High proof ethanol for food items and isopropanol for other stuff is what I use where (1) not advisable
3. I have a bunch of cheap cotton gloves (for doing optics) that I use once and carefully throw in the laundry. Keeps you from scratching your nose or rubbing your eyes. I hate rubber gloves
4. Now wash your hands again

As astronaut Wally Schirra used to advise: maintain an even strain

.

 

[kyphysics]

Freezing is not the only thing that can happen to a liquid. I don't know what could happen in bleach, but just pointing out that it doesn't freeze doesn't mean anything.

As an example, eggs don't boil (or freeze) when you cook them, but clearly they change their state. More generally, you can get chemical reactions (rare when cooling down something), mixtures of substances can un-mix above/below certain temperatures and so on.

That's a good point. Thanks for the re:. I do wonder if leaving my shower spray bleach in the garage for a few days during the summer's 90-100 degree heat affected them? The garage is shaded, so they weren't getting the worst of that heat, but I noticed a lack of bleach smell when spraying them later.

I threw them out. I've since bought the same sprays and stored them in cooler temps and have noticed the normal bleach smell. I theorize the heat someone messed with the chemical make-up for the cleaners...but hard to prove for sure without lab analysis.

 

[kyphysics]

For @kyphysics: I am pleased to meet someone more meticulous about COVID -19 than I am.

Thanks. I did not go into the virus pandemic expecting to be this way. It evolved naturally after a family member died from COVID. Others also were infected and had moderate symptoms. So, I took it very seriously to a practically paranoid level. I admit that I'm on the extreme careful side. It's hard for me to turn that off in my brain.

Thankfully, we have two great vaccines and I look forward to the day I can relax and maybe go back to normal.

On a semi-related note, it's be said that many in Asia continued to wear masks post-SARS for both pollution and germ protection. It became a norm for many. I wonder if this will be true for some in the U.S. post-COVID? I know for me, it will take some reprogramming of the brain to relax.

 

[DaveC426913]

...but I noticed a lack of bleach smell when spraying them later.

I threw them out. I've since bought the same sprays and stored them in cooler temps and have noticed the normal bleach smell. I theorize the heat someone messed with the chemical make-up for the cleaners...but hard to prove for sure without lab analysis.

Yes. Bleach will degrade after a while, especially if exposed to sunlight.

Still, I really think you are way, way overthinking/doing this (unless this is an academic exercise in analysis).

The effectiveness of the bleach in disinfecting your materials is way, way faster than the time it takes for the bleach to decay. It takes on the order of minutes to disinfect. It takes on the order of days for bleach to degrade, and by that time it's long since done its work.

 

[hutchphd]

Thankfully, we have two great vaccines and I look forward to the day I can relax and maybe go back to normal.

Amen to that. Thankfully I have not had your level of personal tragedy.
I live a relatively solitary existence and decided early on (actually when the APS meeting was canceled last March) that I would maintain a high level of awareness. I have modulated it slightly along the way as dictated (better masks and a little less concern about surfaces) but I strive for a uniformly low exposure risk. And being over 65 it is my hope to get vaccine ~two months or less. Nice work by those folks. Stay safe.