They test it to certain tolerances and the law for cleaning products says they have to meet a three log reduction. That is 99.9%. But if products killed 100%, that would be dangerous for people as it would mean that we would be exposed to products too powerful for humans.
When you multiply it up by the dilution factor, you can only be sure there is less than 10 organisms present, which results in a claim of 99.99%. Nobody can make a 100% kill rate claim, so you should never see a competitor with this.
Because there are variations in the way different groups of bacteria construct their cell walls, antibiotics can be designed to selectively target specific species. The fundamental differences between somatic and bacterial cells is the key to selectively killing one and not the other.
There really is no definitive answer to that question. The main point is that there is nothing that will kill 100 percent of harmful microorganisms. There are germs like Noro virus, responsible for 58 percent of foodborne illnesses in the US, that are not killed or reduced by the use of hand sanitizer.
The reason many products say 'kills 99.9 percent' of bacteria on the label is because that is the performance threshold for the sanitizer test EPA requires (ASTM E1153) if people want to market products as sanitizers. In other words, a 99.9 percent reduction is EPA's arbitrary cutoff for sanitizer performance.
The 0.1% that are not killed are most likely those individual bacteria which have resistance to the antibacterial agents in the cleaner. Because they are not killed, they survive and could multiply into a whole population of bacteria which are resistant to that chemical.
The 99.9 per cent figure is a fairly meaningless claim used by advertisers. Although it may be backed up by scientific tests, it doesn't tell us which strains of bacteria and viruses are killed, nor anything about the thoroughness of the cleaning procedure used in the original tests.
In studies, washing hands with soap and water for 15 seconds (about the time it takes to sing one chorus of "Happy Birthday to You") reduces bacterial counts by about 90%. When another 15 seconds is added, bacterial counts drop by close to 99.9% (bacterial counts are measured in logarithmic reductions).
70% isopropyl alcohol is by far better at killing bacteria and viruses than 99% isopropyl alcohol. As a disinfectant, 70% concentration of alcohol is the most effective at killing pathogens. Any higher or lower percentage will be less effective.
Killing 99.99% of any cellular population indicates that 0.01% survive; but these are not a particularly hardy set (genus/species) of microbes, but instead members of the “normal” population that by chance simply were not killed. There is no such thing as a germ that can't be killed. Disinfectants may possibly miss .
Bacteria were traditionally thought to have a symmetrical binary fission without a clear distinction between soma and germ-line, being thus considered as immortal biological entities. Yet it has been recently described that bacteria also undergo replicative aging (RA).
Animals and plants that more strongly depend on bacteria to live would die quickly, which includes many species that humans depend on for food: cows, goats, and sheep. Over time sequestration of essential nutrients in accessible forms would cause more widespread death, as plants and animals steadily dwindled in number.
Waste would accumulate indefinitely
If there aren't any microbes to break down complex compounds into their usable components, all of this "stuff" is going to build up. Human and animal waste, for instance, is normally gobbled up by hungry bacteria and cycled back into the environment.
The human body contains trillions of microorganisms — outnumbering human cells by 10 to 1. Because of their small size, however, microorganisms make up only about 1 to 3 percent of the body's mass (in a 200-pound adult, that's 2 to 6 pounds of bacteria), but play a vital role in human health.
And it can't happen, because there just aren't enough nutrients available for bacteria to keep up with that super fast rate of growth. And when bacteria realize that resources are running low, they get stressed out.
Antibiotic resistant bacteria are bacteria that are not controlled or killed by antibiotics. They are able to survive and even multiply in the presence of an antibiotic. Most infection-causing bacteria can become resistant to at least some antibiotics.
"The effectiveness of hand sanitizer varies on how oily or dirty your hands are, how much alcohol is in there, and which germs you're actually talking about." The bottom line: real-world results are often less than 99.99 percent.
The 100% isopropyl alcohol coagulates the proteins instantly by creating a protein layer that protects the other proteins from further coagulation. Due to this microbes are not killed but remains in dormant stage.
Even though you may think the higher concentration is more effective, experts say 70% is actually better for disinfecting. It has more water, which helps it to dissolve more slowly, penetrate cells, and kill bacteria. The disinfecting power of rubbing alcohol drops at concentrations higher than 80%-85%.
Hand Sanitizer and Wipes. Soap and water remove certain germs that hand sanitizers don't kill, including germs that cause diarrhea such as norovirus, Cryptosporidium, and Clostridioides difficile. Soap and water also remove harmful chemicals like pesticides and heavy metals.
There are millions and millions of different types of germs and bacteria that exist in the world. Most household bleach products claim that bleach can kill 99.9% of germs and bacteria, because it cannot be proven on every single type of micro-organism that exists.
Boiling water kills or inactivates viruses, bacteria, protozoa and other pathogens by using heat to damage structural components and disrupt essential life processes (e.g. denature proteins). Boiling is not sterilization and is more accurately characterized as pasteurization.
An estimated 30 trillion cells in your body—less than a third—are human. The other 70-90% are bacterial and fungal. Ninety-nine percent of the unique genes in your body are bacterial. Only about one percent is human.
Germs are living things that can be found everywhere, from the air to the ground to your body. The main types of germs are bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. Some germs are good for you and keep you healthy. Other germs can cause harm and even be dangerous.
Germs live everywhere. You can find germs (microbes) in the air; on food, plants and animals; in the soil and water — and on just about every other surface, including your body.