What to Use to Disinfect Whistles?

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 9:22 pm

Inert ingredients (unspecified); 99.94%

That's likely 'water'.

I never disinfect my whistles. I like to think that they're not infected in the first place!

CHIFF FIPPLE · Post by **CHIFF FIPPLE** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 2:20 am

Cranberry wrote:
Inert ingredients (unspecified); 99.94%
That's likely 'water'.

I never disinfect my whistles. I like to think that they're not infected in the first place!

Think again
What Are Germs?
Some kids may think that germs are just bugs or cooties or other gross stuff. Actually, germs are tiny organisms that can cause disease. Germs are so small and sneaky that they creep into our systems without being noticed. In fact, germs are so tiny that you need to use a microscope to see them. We don't know what hit us until we have symptoms that say we've been attacked!

What Types of Germs Are There?
Germs are found all over the world, in all kinds of places.There are four major types of germs: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. They invade plants and animals and sometimes make us sick. Germs invade us because they can't live on their own.

Glittering Germs
For a quick lesson with instant results, cover a pencil with glue, then sprinkle glitter all over the glue. Pass the pencil around the room (yes, this one's a little messy!) and watch the glittering "germs" spread from one student to the next. If you wipe the pencil off with a paper towel, some of the germs will still remain. This is why it is important to actually WASH the pencil (and everyone's hands) with soap and water to effectively remove the germs. You can expect at least one of your students to touch something else once they have glitter on their hands. Glitter on a desk, one their face, or in their hair is an even better example of how easy it is to spread germs.

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 5:28 am

If you're still looking, BioGuard is an industry standard cleaner.

Proven effective against:

Hepatitis B and HIV viruses

Listeria

E.coli

Streptococcus

Parvo virus

Clowns*

Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Pseudomonas

Salmonella

Aspergillus

It comes in many forms, impregnated wipes being probably the most useful in this situation.

_________________

* I wish

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:21 am

Martin, will you please relocate to a time zone that's more chat room-friendly? Your quirky sense of humor is absolutely wonderful!
Susan

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 7:24 am

susnfx wrote:Martin, will you please relocate to a time zone that's more chat room-friendly? Your quirky sense of humour is absolutely wonderful!
Susan

Ah, unfortunately it only works because I'm five hours ahead of Eastern Seaboard time, giving me an extra five hours to come up with something.

In real time I'm as dull as a bowl of used washing up water, as Avanutria will be able to verify this summer.

NancyF · Post by **NancyF** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:10 pm

Clarification on the bleach - I only bleach when I have actual gunk visibly growing in the whistle, usually I just use soap and water. I'm not an antiseptic germo-phobe, (though maybe I should be. ) I will let most anyone play my whistles and will play offered whistles unless I know I have a cold or something, or I think the person I'm offering my whistle to has just eaten...

--NancyF

janice · Post by **janice** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:20 pm

Wombat, Conn's germicide works very well as a metal mouthpiece sterilizing agent (always had a couple of bottles in my band hall to use with my student's horns). I don't know if it is an effective sterilizing agent for wood though.....

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 7:34 pm

People are too hypochondriatic these days. Yes there are germs, and you should wash your hands after you potty and before you eat, and it's probably a good idea to keep your paws away from your eyes, nose, and mouth as much as possible BUT you DO have an immune system. With the exception of young children, the elderly, and people with immune disorders, there's no reason to be going into fits over wether or not your environment is 100% steril. As my mom always said, "you have to eat a pound of dirt before you can grow up."

You wanna fight germs? Eat lots of vegetables. Take your daily multivitamin. Exercize. Laugh often. And stop worrying yourself to death!!

Blah...

(and I think the plain old soap-n-water idea is probably the best out of the whole bunch mentioned here)

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 7:40 pm

I love that.

rebl_rn · Post by **rebl_rn** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 8:27 pm

I agree with Sam. I can't stress enough that the number one thing to do to prevent the spread of infection is wash your hands. The reason why so much infection is spread in hospitals is 1) there are a lot of sick people there but more importantly 2) Doctors and nurses are notoriously bad about washing their hands. You'd think that, being doctors and nurses and all, that they'd be careful about this clean hands business, but study after study have shown that it's not done. So much so that CDC and other organizations are pushing the use of the rinseless antibacterial gels - not because they are better than soap and water, but because there's a better chance that health care personnel will use them.

OK, I'm off my soapbox about handwashing

.

Also, studies have shown that there is such a thing as being too clean - ironically, it leaves one more susceptible to infections, asthma, allergies and the like. Specifically, kids that are raised in super-clean homes have much greater rates of allergies and asthma.

That being said, it probably a good idea to wash off your whistle mouthpiece if you're not sure where its been (or if you KNOW where its been and that worries you). Soap and water (I also agree that soap is very under-rated) should be adequate unless for some reason it's spectacularly dirty.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 12:18 am

janice wrote:Wombat, Conn's germicide works very well as a metal mouthpiece sterilizing agent (always had a couple of bottles in my band hall to use with my student's horns). I don't know if it is an effective sterilizing agent for wood though.....

Thanks Janice, I knew if I waited long enough I'd finally get an answer to that one.

BTW, I'm pretty much on the side of those who think we can be too concerned with sterility for our own good. But I am prone to respiratory infections which I would rather not pass on to others or pick up from others. I have one at the moment and would rather not reinfect myself and I have absolutely no intention of putting teh whistles aside until it clears up. Make sense? Well, it does to me.

BTW, Zub, how did you manage to give your wooden whistles athlete's foot?

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 12:39 am

Wombat wrote:BTW, Zub, how did you manage to give your wooden whistles athlete's foot?

Well, isn't it from being a real all-round athlete?

Actually, I thought Nike was a brand of ocarina, because of the location of the lace holes. I had to check if it was chromatic, found out it was only aromatic.
Now I know better: I only buy scratch-strapped sneakers. Plain colour, with no critter glitter.

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 7:15 am

CHIFF FIPPLE wrote:
"I'd like to talk with you."

Anyone read lips? I think that's what she's saying.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 10:21 am

Lorenzo wrote:
CHIFF FIPPLE wrote:
"I'd like to talk with you."
Anyone read lips? I think that's what she's saying.

I dunno; looks to me like, "All right...f*** you."

Sandy Jasper · Post by **Sandy Jasper** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 1:54 pm

Hey all

For a summer I opened up my own icecream store and cafe. I had to get health permits etc and one of the stumbling blocks I had was that my dishwasher wasn't hot enough to sterilize dishes. The health inspector had an easy solution.

Rinse the dishes in a solution of water and bleach, the bleach being a really small amount. (a couple of capfulls per sink I think) The trick was, we had to let the dishes AIR DRY. If you used a towel, it defeated the purpose. The bleach evaporated so there was none left on the dishes.

If this works on cutlery that goes in peoples mouths, it should work for whistles. I would wash with soap and water, then dip in the mild bleach solution then allow it to drip dry.

*Blood is different altogether. Some things in blood need heat to kill, so don't use this method for first aid applications if you have a concern of contamination!!!

Sandy