Last Wednesday, as I was delivering some nappies, one of the mums using our service asked me : "I don't understand...What detergent are you using? When I used to wash my nappies, I couldn't get rid off the stains..."
As I was driving back to Rescue Mum HQ, I started to wonder as well. That is true, we are using an efficient and eco-friendly detergent, but more than that, we are using the sun to dry the nappies. That is when I asked myself : "But how does it work? How does the sun to bleach and disinfect a fabric?"
To start with, I had to understand what was a stain made of. The simple answer is bacteria, viruses, or protozoa. BOUH!! Bacteria, really? In the freshly cleaned nappies? Yes, madam, it is!!
So there we go. not as fresh and clean as we thought!
But don't you panic! The sun is here to finish the job. I knew that sunlight was the most natural disinfectant and that it could kill pathogens causing diarrhea.Now, all I needed to know is how!
To understand the whole process, I had to know what a bacteria and the sun was made up of.
Here is a simple drawing of a bacteria composition. There are different types of bacteria, with many different shapes and sizes. The only thing that they will all have in common is their composition. What interest us here is their nucleoid or DNA. This is their genetic material, and therefore this will determine what enables them to reproduce and infect.
Let's talk about the sun now. It is made of hydrogen gas. It's enormous size and gravitational force squashes the hydrogen atoms together to form helium and energy, finally producing heat and different forms of light : visible light. infrared and ultra violet light (UV's). This last form of light is quite strong.
So the main element in the process that interest us are the UV rays. They are really unique and lucky for us, they fall in a certain range of wavelenght which makes them germicidal (A wavelenght is a unit of measurement indicating the distance between the peak of one wave and the next). What does that mean? Well, they are able to inactivate bacteria, viruses and protozoa.
It is actually a physical process. The microorganisms absorb this high and very strong UV energy that will change their DNA by creating new bonds in their molecule. As a consequence, they are rendered incapable of reproducing and infecting.
So that is how it works : the bacteria contained in the stains of our nappies will be killed by the ultra violet radiation when left in the sun for several hours = DISINFECTED!! These UV's will as well break apart the molecular structure that change the way the color is reflected back = BLEACH!!
The nappies are now white and bacteria free!! CLEAN and ready to be delivered.
ADVANTAGES OF THE SUN :
* Kills the pathogen microorganisms such as bacteria. protozoa and viruses
* The most natural way to disinfect, no toxic product in the environment, not armful for our beautiful planet.
* Safer for clothes and nappies than chemical product (such as bleach)
* It's FREE!!
We all now won't look at the sun the same way.
References :
No comments:
Post a Comment