Doesn't alcohol (like isopropol) have like zero surface tension? I know it evaporates super fast which is one of the factors that makes it a good cleaning agent.

[–] BallsandBayonets@lemmings.world 23 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That's actually exactly why it's a bad cleaning agent, at least for sterilization purposes. It evaporates before it can kill any microbes.

[–] Daxtron2@startrek.website 21 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah if you're using high percentage isopropanol it's less effective. I think the current recommendation is 70% for sterilization purposes as it remains in contact longer. Higher percentages is more for its use as a solvent or cleaning electronics.

[–] sneekee_snek_17@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I thought the 70% was recommended because it helps maintain membrane fluidity or something like that

[–] LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee 1 points 3 months ago

Yeah or something with hydrophilic properties with the water help destroy microbes. I love reading about chemistry but keep forgetting.

[–] dharmacurious 21 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

This is almost completely unrelated, but your comment made me think of it for some reason, so story time:

Years ago, I worked at a gas station on the night shift. We had these huge wall mounted containers of cleaning supplies, like soap dispensers in a rest room, but like 30 gallons/100 liters, and full of various cleaning supplies that a company came by every so often and swapped the empties for full ones. There were like 5 of em, for use in cleaning different stuff.

One day, they came and swapped em out, and no one noticed that they'd all been replaced with rubbing alcohol until it was already after end of day for the delivery company. It took weeks before we could get them to come back out, and for several weeks I had to mop the floors and clean the whole store with diluted alcohol. It was sparkling clean, but good GOD the head rush. I had to leave the doors open and blast the AC whenever we were cleaning.

[–] Vytle@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Oh my god I think I would vomit

[–] dharmacurious 4 points 3 months ago

It was pretty rough. We got a lot of complaints