Cleaning Countertops

Does cleaning countertops work when it comes to coronavirus?

Or is it something that just looks good?

Hey, look, honey, I’m doing something; look at me. I’m doing something.

But is doing something equivalent to doing something good?  Or are we just making ourselves feel good?

Is it even possible to effectively clean the countertops?

Well, why are we cleaning the countertops? What’s the purpose of cleaning the countertops?

How many of you can actually say that you got an infection ever in your life from not cleaning a countertop?

Let’s assume that an infected person coughed into the air after which the exhaled virus spread through the air and then filtered down upon the countertop.  Given that a sneezed virus is disbursed throughout an ocean of air and is therefore likely to reduce viral load, how many viruses will fall on that countertop? Then, how likely is it that you will prepare food directly upon those fallen viruses?  Pretty low.

Alternatively, how many of you vigorously rub your hands along countertops for the purposes of picking up as many viruses as possible?  

Probably none of you.

Given that I would say the odds of you getting a virus from a countertop are pretty damn low. 

So then why do it?

Is this just a mass delusion perpetrated by our fascist government to raise the sales of corporate cleaning products?  It certainly has been a bonanza for Lysol.

Certainly the idea of cleaning countertops seems sound.  If there are viruses afoot, why not stamp them out?

Well, is it possible to stamp out all the nooks and crannies a criminal virus might be hiding?  The task seems daunting –  akin to covering up a crime by wiping down the scene of fingerprints and DNA after the evil deed has been done.

Yes, you got the countertop; but did you forget the one cabinet handle, fork, or glass?

The image of Joan Crawford maniacally cleaning a bathroom comes to mind.

Like Joan Crawford we can drive ourselves insane when focusing on cleanliness.

There is such a thing as doing too much.

What we should be focused on is handwashing prior to handing food that we plan to place in our mouths.  

That’s the money pitch.

That’s the final common pathway.

That doesn’t mean that you don’t take reasonable precautions by wiping down the countertop where you plan to place the burger meat.  I mean, why go out of your way to invite crime into your life?

But don’t think you have beaten the game just because you’ve wiped down those countertops.

Sincerely,

Archer Crosley, MD

Friday, July 10, 2020

 

 

Copyright 2020  Archer Crosley   All Rights Reserved