Ben Shaffer wrote:
So I'm buying a Delrin Flute off Craig's List
Quick question, what to use to disinfect the Flute upon arrival
I would not want use Bleach or Alcohol on the Flute.
What about hydrogen Peroxide?
Given that COVID 19 can remain on plastic for 2 weeks plus I could just wait for 3 weeks or so before I play the Flute.....but is that even safe?
The good news about COVID-19 is that it's of a class called "enveloped viruses" which are among the easiest to deactivate, and that's also why plain soap and water are so highly recommended. The principle with enveloped viruses is that they need their outer layer to be effective, so if you can disrupt that, you disrupt their ability to infect and replicate. But the problem so far is that we know next to nothing about COVID-19 and what its kryptonite is. The other coronaviruses - common cold, for one - are also enveloped viruses, and they all can be rendered ineffective by soap, bleach, alcohol (no, your vodka won't be strong enough), and hydrogen peroxide, so it makes sense that it's worth a try to use those against COVID-19 as well, but as yet we don't know how different this thing this is from its fellow coronaviruses in that regard, so for now we must consider all guarantees to be slim. But better that than nothing.
You have a lot more leeway with the flute being Delrin, but while hydrogen peroxide stands as much of a chance as anything, I don't know if its bleaching properties will affect Delrin too; you might want to try a drop of it in the flute's interior to see how that goes, first. Me, I'd start with a good, long and thorough rubdown with soap and water, and if the Delrin proves structurally or cosmetically unaffected by hydrogen peroxide, then I'd do that next. Some viruses take only a couple of minutes with hydrogen peroxide, but others take as much as ten minutes. This is uncharted territory, so it's best to err on the side of overkill. With that in mind, until we know more you could even sanitize it every day for a three-week period if you're so inclined, before you play it.