[TheThinkTank] Rubbing alcohol substitutes, spraying grips with bleach, etc.

[Cyclista Nicholas]

Forgot to add about acetone:

It will dissolve some plastics, likely even more than denatured alcohol, 
so be careful. It will mix with with water, so it can be diluted. I do 
not know whether dilution will affect it's antimicrobial properties, 
however.

~cyclista Nicholas


On 2020-03-21 05:41, Cyclista Nicholas wrote:
> Sanitizing:
> 
> Watered-down bleach won't work well on surfaces that have a lot of
> oils on them when the concentrate of bleach is low; therefore you
> might try a higher concentrate for grips and tape, and a lower
> concentrate for saddles.
> 
> Acetone, commonly available as nail polish remover, or as "paint
> thinner" in hardware stores, also has antiviral properties:
> 
> https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166354205000707
> https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-3-2-271
> 
> Be aware that not all paint thinner is made from acetone, hence the 
> quotes.
> 
> Denatured alcohol available at the hardware store should also have
> antiviral and antibacterial properties.
> 
> All of these chemicals are highly irritating to the skin and
> subsequently anyone using them should wear nitrile gloves with at
> least 5 mil thickness, as latex or vinyl are not all that resistant
> chemically and thinner mils (3 and below are more common) might break
> down more quickly. If using denatured hardware store alcohol, be
> especially careful as it often (but not always) contains methyl
> alcohol (as opposed to isopropyl or benzyl alcohol) which is poisonous
> and can enter the body via contact with skin.
> 
> As for minimizing contact on shared surfaces, at RIBs we are not
> allowing any "unclean" hands or gloves to come in contact with any
> item in the shop. If someone so much as scratches their head, with
> either their bare hand or their glove, they have to go wash their
> hands or gloves, or change gloves, before touching anything in the
> shop again. Ideally, they do not even touch their own clothing and
> afterward touch an item in the shop.
> 
> These extreme measures are considered necessary because it is
> literally impossible to sanitize several hundred filthy tools that are
> battered, gouged, and decades-old, so instead we are preventing them
> from getting infected in the first place. Additionally, it is assumed
> that there might very well be pathogens on the tools anyway, so people
> wash again after leaving. The idea is don't touch your body at all
> after washing your hands while in the shop space.
> 
> ~cyclista Nicholas
> 
> 
> On 2020-03-21 03:56, Andrew Shaw-Kitch wrote:
>> Thanks for the lively conversation on how to ride the line between 
>> serving
>> our community and doing our part not to spread covid-19. This is an
>> unprecedented situation from all angles, so it's nice to have this 
>> group of
>> like-minded folks from all over looking at things from this one.
>> 
>> Here at Bikes for Humanity PDX we have postponed all classes, 
>> in-person
>> programs, and open hours. We are doing bike adoptions on an 
>> appointment
>> basis: (1) bikes are posted online for folks to browse, folks referred 
>> to
>> us from partner organizations describe what they are looking for (2) a 
>> time
>> is set 30 mins+ away from another appointment, and the adopter is 
>> asked if
>> they'll need helmet, light, and/or lock. (3) We meet in the parking 
>> lot
>> behind our space with a couple bike options, and any other items they 
>> might
>> need. We feel this is a satisfactory means toward meeting the needs of
>> people trying to access bikes as either a diversion or way to get to 
>> work,
>> as well as our own needs of revenue and the fulfillment of our 
>> mission.
>> 
>> Does anyone have insight on how to maximize social distancing and 
>> minimize
>> shared contact of surfaces? I am also interested from a mechanical
>> perspective, what the effect of watered down bleach is on grips, 
>> saddles,
>> bar wrap. Since we only have so much rubbing alcohol, and it won't be
>> easier to acquire anytime soon, we are looking for a way to ensure 
>> contact
>> points are sterilized going forward. Spray bleach-water on grips and 
>> wipe
>> with rag designated as the touch-points sanitizing rag?
>> 
>> And since rubbing alcohol is now prioritized for non-bike purposes, 
>> what is
>> another means of cleaning bearing systems, rims and disc rotors? I 
>> will be
>> taking the crisis/opportunity ("crisitunity" in the phrasing of Homer
>> Simpson) of having the doors closed to catch up refurbishment of the 
>> 100
>> bikes in our basement...
>> 
>> --
>> 
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