8 Things That Kill Coronavirus

What kills coronavirus? I’ve done some digging on what chemical compounds will kill the virus that causes COVID-19, and I wanted to share my findings with you guys. A complete list from the EPA can be found here.

Do I need to remind you that I’m not a doctor or any kind of medical professional? What follows is just my interpretation of what I’ve read about how to kill this terrifying virus. Definitely check with someone with some kind of real qualifications before following any of my tips;).

Please note that this list is for killing the virus on hard surfaces (for my use that means doorknobs, plastic packaging that food comes in, railings in the common areas of our building, etc.).

Also important: all of these take ten minutes on surfaces to work; the exception is ethanol (alcohol), which kills the virus in 5 minutes.

I’ll also label each as Good Stuff or Best Stuff based on potential toxicity of each ingredient.

Ethanol, otherwise known as alcohol, is what’s in Purell (which is Bad Stuff because of other gross ingredients, like fragrance) but these two are Good Stuff: All Good Organic Peppermint Hand Sanitizer Spray and Aura Cacia Natural Hand Sanitizer.

Thymol (thyme oil) is found in Cleanwell and Seventh Generation antibacterial products, both of which seem to be sold out absolutely everywhere.

Hypochlorous acid is the main ingredient in Lumion skincare (which I’m also using to clean my hands). Code GIMMETHEGOODSTUFF will give you 15% off on their site.

Citric acid is found in Comet (Bad Stuff because of other ingredients) and Method Antibacterial Cleaner (not quite Good Stuff, but Okay Stuff).

Sodium chloride is the active ingredient in Force of Nature. (40% off Bundles with code: BABYSAFETYMONTH)

Hydrogen peroxide is also hard to get right now. You want a 3% concentration. (This might be a stretch, but we aren’t sold out of this mouthwash, which contains 1.5% hydrogen peroxide, which is more than these healthcare wipes. So, don’t judge me when you find me wiping down my doorknob with mouthwash.)

Sodium hypochlorite is more commonly known as bleach, and you’ll find it in most (toxic!) Clorox products.

Quaternary ammonium is the active ingredient in Lysol products.

Can Essential Oils Kill Coronavirus?

I can’t find any studies showing that essential oils definitely kill coronaviruses, but this study shows that certain oils are effective in killing H1N1 flu viruses as well as the herpes simplex virus (plus a variety of bacteria and fungi).

The blend tested contained cinnamon, wild carrot, eucalyptus, and rosemary oils (worth noting: this blend also was effective against antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria).

Other studies have confirmed the antibacterial properties of eucalyptus oil as well as of cinnamon oil, and this all-purpose cleaner contains both . This sanitizing spray contains rosemary and eucalyptus.