Japan Airlines: Pay attention to safety when cleaning with antibacterial wipes

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

It is common knowledge that daily hand washing and frequent cleaning and disinfection of contact surfaces are some keys to preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2. In order to prevent infection, easy-to-use antibacterial wipes have become tools for epidemic prevention. However, after cleaning hands, can the used wet wipes be used to wipe the surfaces by the way, and is it safer to disinfect by the way? If so, please be especially careful, because not all items can be disinfected with antibacterial wipes!

According to a report by the Japan Broadcasting Association NHK, Japan Airlines will provide free disinfectant wipes for passengers to use in order to strengthen the epidemic prevention. However, the airline reminds passengers "do not wipe glass windows" after cleaning their hands with antibacterial wipes. 

According to the Public Relations Department of Japan Airlines, wiping glass windows with antibacterial wipes will cause deterioration of the window glass. The department stated that in order to maintain the internal air pressure of the aircraft at a certain level, the aircraft’s glass windows consist of three layers, outer, middle and inner glass, and the inner layer is made of acrylic. 

Once the glass windows of the aircraft are exposed to alcohol in the wipes, the latter will cause fog or cracks in the area although it will not affect the flight. The public relations staff pointed out, "In the current situation, we can understand the mood of passengers wanting to wipe the windows, but the cleaning and disinfection of the aircraft have been done thoroughly. I hope passengers can understand."

Japan Airlines is the first airline in the world to warn passengers not to sanitize aircraft windows themselves.

Items that cannot be disinfected with alcohol include furniture, leather products, plastic products, etc. 

Kaoru Motojo, the executive director of the "Alcohol Association" in Japan, who specializes in research on alcohol, reminded that items that cannot be disinfected with alcohol include furniture, leather products, and some plastic products that are painted with lacquer. 

When the paint or adhesive dissolves, the surface of the furniture becomes white or cracks, and leather products will lose their luster. If it is a plastic product, it may become opaque. Alcohol is easy to catch fire, so it must not be used near fire sources such as gas stoves, candles, incense, and fireworks. 

As for whether the mobile phone can be wiped with antibacterial wipes, users should pay attention to the relevant information published on the official website of each manufacturer.

Some people use alcohol several times a day to disinfect their hands, causing sequelae such as roughness or allergies. At this time, they need to wipe some hand cream to moisturize. Although alcohol has a good anti-epidemic effect, beware of excessive use. If alcohol cannot be used for disinfection, the best way is to wash hands frequently with soap. If users want to disinfect shared items at home, please also consider using household cleaners or chlorine bleach.