GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Many of us are still readjusting our daily routines following the COVID pandemic, but one thing that remains is that many of us continue to use disinfectants just as we did at its peak.
In a new study just published this week, researchers released their findings. Now, they're warning about disinfectant overuse.
Findings showed stuff like antibacterial hand soaps, disinfectant wipes and more are actually contributing to health problems, environmental problems and what's called antimicrobial resistance too.
It's because of something found in the products called quaternary ammonium compounds, also known as QAC's.
Around two dozen researchers were apart of that study, including one from Michigan State University.
What can we do about it? One of the researchers, Erica Hartmann said just using more soap and water is a good start.
"You would want to disinfect if you're in the kitchen and you're doing food prep and you're worried about, 'I just handled raw chicken and now I'm about to chop vegetables," said a researcher from Northwestern University Erica Hartmann. "You don't need to disinfect if you're just sweeping crumbs off your counter," she said.
Whether consumers get on board, may be a different matter. The products impacted are everything from sprays to surface wipes to all kinds of different cleaning products. It's the same ones that became a staple during the pandemic, and even had many sold out across the country.
Analysts added more research is needed regarding this topic.
