Ebola Outbreak: Lysol And Clorox Customers Are Flooding Product Hotlines With Ebola-Related Concerns
Apparently, there’s only really one question Americans have about their favorite disinfectants: Will they protect them from Ebola? According to Lysol and Clorox, recently their customers have been extremely concerned with whether or not store-bought bleach is strong enough to kill the Ebola virus. The answer, in short, is yes, most probably.
Unfortunately, it looks as though one thing is benefitting from the current Ebola outbreak: the cleaning products industry. Based on data collected by Deutsche Bank, sales of cleaning products have soared over the past few weeks, Adage reported. Not only have sales of cleaning products increased, but so have people’s concerns on the exact potential of these products. "We have seen an exponential increase in the number of queries we get from consumers," said Patty O’Hayer, spokeswoman for Lysol’s parent company, Reckitt Benckiser, to CNN. "They want to know if our claim that Lysol kills 99 percent of all germs applies to Ebola."
For the record, Ebola is most probably included in the 99.9 percent of all germs Lysol claims to kill. In all honestly, however, the company has never exactly tested their product on Ebola, so they can’t really say for sure. However, they do reassure that based on their ability to kill similar as well as harder-to-kill viruses, these products are likely to be effective against the Ebola virus."
Lysol is not alone in suddenly finding themselves as the number one Ebola experts. Clorox is experiencing a similar influx of messages. Although the company hasn’t quite addressed their stance on Ebola-fighting effectiveness, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, they recently shipped 12,000 bottles of bleach to West Africa, so there must be something working.
Thankfully, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology agree. Both have Lysol and Clorox classified as hospital grade EPA-approved cleaners good enough to be used on Ebola contaminated areas, Businessweek reported.
Despite the recent spike in attention and subsequent sales, Lysol is actually not all that interested in being America’s secret weapon against the Ebola virus. “We are not trying to over-claim anything; we don't ever claim as fact that if you have good disinfectants that will protect you from Ebola," O'Hayer said. "The intent is to direct people to the CDC."
On the their web page, you can now see a direct link to the CDC’s website available for those seeking further information on Ebola prevention methods.