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...
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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