Pine-Sol has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an effective cleaner that can kill the novel coronavirus.
This make the common disinfectant, which is owned by The Clorox Company, one of the nearly 500 products approved by the agency to neutralized the virus.
In a press release, the company stated Pine-Sol was effective against the virus with a ’10-minute contact time on hard non-porous surfaces.’
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump speculated about injecting a disinfectant into the human body as a defense against COVID-19.
But public health experts warn these products are not meant to be ingested in any way and that doing so can have serious consequences.
Pine-Sol Original Multi-Surface Cleaner was found effective against the virus on ‘hard non-porous surfaces’ after letting it stand for 10 minutes by a third-party laboratory, The Clorox Company said.
Pine-Sol, which is found on the EPA’s website under the name ‘Tuck 3,’ was added to the agency’s list of ‘Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2’ on September 3.
According to Good Housekeeping, the cleaner is listed under the code 5813-101 on the EPA’s website.
‘With a long-standing history of being a powerful cleaner and disinfectant…Pine-Sol Original Multi-Surface Cleaner now offers the clean families have trusted through generations with the protection they need right now against the spread of SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,’ Chris Hyder, Vice President and General Manager of the Cleaning division, at The Clorox Company, said in a statement.
‘We hope this new Pine-Sol kill claim will increase access to disinfectants that can help prevent the spread of COVID-19.’
To disinfect surfaces against the coronavirus, The Clorox Company recommend applying Pine-Sol with a clean sponge or a cloth.
Next, wet the surface and let stand for 10 minutes before rinsing.
According to the company, most of the other disinfectants recommended by the EPA have not been specifically tested against the virus that causes COVID-19.
Several cleaning products, such as Clorox and Lysol, have experienced shortages with some reporting it will be difficult to find these products in either wipe or spray form until 2021.
However, The Clorox Company says Pine-Sol disinfectant is not experiencing such shortages and is ‘readily available’ both in stores and online.
The EPA says that, when using any of the products on its list, to follow label instructions for ‘safe, effective use.’
This includes instructions for contact time, or the amount of time the surface should be visibly wet, before being rinsed.
Pine-Sol was founded by chemist Harry Cole in Jackson, Mississippi, with the original formulation being pine oil-based, which is a natural disinfectant.
Clorox acquired the Pine-Sol brand from American Cyanamid’s Shulton Group in 1990, but the products no longer contain pine oil to reduce costs
The company is perhaps most famous for having comedienne Diane Amos serve as the spokesperson for advertising campaigns since 1993 with her famous catchphrase: ‘That’s the power of Pine-Sol, baby.’
Source: Daily Mail
