
Copper kills coronavirus. Why aren’t our surfaces covered in it? - notlukesky
https://www.fastcompany.com/90476550/copper-kills-coronavirus-why-arent-our-surfaces-covered-in-it
======
Someone1234
\- It is expensive.

\- People steal it.

\- It is difficult to work with.

\- Copper industry trade groups are pushing this issue/funding this research.

\- Hospitals are rarely designed with infectious controls in mind, that's why
they have drop ceilings, impossible to clean surface materials, standard
computer keyboards, and materials that would be damaged if steam cleaned in
almost every room. Next time you're in a hospital room, just look upwards and
ask yourself how you'd clean that ceiling.

\- Hospitals need a redesign in more than just the door knobs, but they're
"private business" and regulation is "bad" so don't expect to see that
changing in the US soon. Instead hospitals spend money on atmosphere in public
spaces, so people elect to do procedures there. If you added a public rating
system for infectious disease design, things would change, but until then
nothing will.

PS - I'm not anti-copper contact surfaces, I'm just pointing out this is a
drop in the bucket of issues with medical facility design. We can do one
without doing them all, but our priorities as a society will keep us from
doing any at the current rate.

~~~
gus_massa
Also:

\- It forms a rusty surface, so you must polish it everyday because nobody
likes a rusty hospital. (Is the rusted version better or worse against the
virus?)

\- Can you use bleach to clean it?

~~~
anfilt
Baldwin brass does not tarnish. I don't know if has any antimicrobial
properties though.

Plain copper or brass if you don't want spend a lot time buffing or polishing
can actually be easily cleaned with sodium cyanide. Although I am sure there
are other cleaners that would be easier to properly dispose of. Although, I
know in factories they use it clean brass and copper quickly. Apparently
vinegar can work well too never tried it though.

~~~
gus_massa
I think we agree that Sodium Cyanide not safe enough to use nearby general
public. (I used Potassium Cyanide in my secondary school because it has an
specialization in Chemistry. It is usable in a lab or factory environments,
but you must be careful.)

Ammonia should also be useful, because it forms a nice blue complex with
cooper, but it is not as strong as the cyanide complex. There are 5% solutions
for home use, but I'm not sure that they are good enough for cleaning the rust
and safe enough for a hospital room nearby a patient.

About vinegar, I'm not sure if it forms a complex, but can apparently dissolve
the rust. I don't remember trying it, but from one of the first links in
Google
[https://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/copper_caper....](https://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/copper_caper.html)

~~~
tropo
Sulfuric acid will remove the oxide without damaging the copper. Tested and
known to work: a syrupy-thick 18 molar concentration.

So that's a cyanide-free answer to the problem. Cover the ceiling and walls
with copper foil, and regularly mop them down with 18 molar sulfuric acid to
keep them pretty. Rinse carefully, especially the ceiling.

The cleaning solution is also a great disinfectant all by itself.

------
kwhitefoot
As it seems to be widely agreed that copper or copper alloy surfaces are a
good idea does anyone have any suggestions for methods of applying copper to
existing surfaces such as keyboards, mice, mobile phone cases, gloves, door
handles, etc.

Could powdered copper suspended in some kind of water based lacquer work for
instance?

