Does boiling water sterilize nail clippers?

Let’s face it; we all want to keep our nails looking presentable and clean. It is part of personal hygiene, after all. However, have you ever thought about the tools you use to clip your nails? Are they as clean as they should be?

Nail clippers can harbor bacteria and other disease-causing microorganisms that can spread infections if not disinfected correctly. One method that people often use is boiling water.

But does boiling water really sterilize nail clippers? The answer may surprise you!

The Science Behind Boiling Water

Boiling water is a common way to disinfect or kill bacteria in various household items – even nail clippers.

When heated, boiled-water will create hot steam which causes cell death of most microbes due to denaturation of proteins and damage lipid membranes (1). According to studies conducted by microbiologists, exposing potentially infected objects such as surgical instruments or toothbrushes dipped in hot-water reduces up 99% bacterial load (2).

However, using this method must meet conditions such as exposure time and temperature limits for full effectiveness (Table 1). In fact, research has shown that just because water reaches its boiling point doesn’t mean it’s enough time for sterilization purposes.

Temperature Expose Time
Above 100ºC (212 ºF) Minimum 10 mins

While boiling purifies things like tap water or cooking utensils from gross impurities like minerals or fats/oils (3). But when dealing with living organisms at microscopic levels requires more scrutiny before claiming satisfactory outcomes.

Why Use Boiling Water to Clean Nail Clippers?

There are endless products available in stores claiming anti-bacterial properties but may come with harmful chemicals mixed inside them- these could cause adverse effects while depending on certain skincare types like sensitive or allergenic.

Despite this, there is an alternative of boiling water that seems reliable to use while cleaning tools like nail clippers.

Firstly, it’s always affordable and accessible in every household. Moreover, it doesn’t require much effort; It can sanitize nail clippers between uses by soaking them for a few minutes after each trimming session (4).

On the downside, depending solely on hot-water may not be as effective as using specific disinfectants – especially concerning extensive usage against highly infectious diseases’ pathogens.

Do Boiled Water Kill All Kinds of Microorganisms Found on Nail Clippers?

It would be great to consider boiled-water as an end-all solution to germ-infested beauty equipment like nail-clippers, but unfortunately, it does not sterilize all types of bacteria effectively.

Several hazardous microbes are resistant even at higher temperatures such as Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (tuberculosis).

Studies pointed out that consistent exposure heat up 100 ºC (213ºF) must achieve more than ten consecutive boiling cycles to kill these microorganisms adequately(5). That means the person risking their life from touching potential derivate contaminated with these illnesses could need investing hours into sterilizing one single tool alone! No thank you!

Lucky for us less commonly present disease carriers do get get killed during ever boil cycle.

Types of Bacteria Found on Nails

  1. Staphylococcus aureus
  2. E.coli
  3. Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Knowing which type(s) is prevalent in your nails help you come towards a well-defined resolution if boiled-water sanitization will deem satisfying for its needs.

Other Effective Natural Sterilization Methods

Apart from submerging in hot liquid substances like boiling water- other tested methods do exist: some people incorporate alcohol/ hydrogen peroxide, and even UV light.

  1. Alcohol – Typically an antiseptic solution used is Isopropyl alcohol when worked with for disinfecting tools or surfaces such as a Methylated spirit used in personal care field applications.
  2. Hydrogen Peroxide- A common alternative approach to using battery acid which further decomposes within water but not harmful than chlorine bleach.
  3. UV Light – It’s effective against numerous strains of bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli present on the tools including nail clippers (6).

Don’t have any of these items at hand? White vinegar diluted in hot water can do just fine! But again falls short making it not worth risking the healthcare concern by using it wildly.

Conclusion

So, does boiling water sterilize nail clippers? Unfortunately no- only factoring minor microbes are killed during this process.

Boiling kills off some bacteria that cause infection, but not them all- depending upon how deadly they might be makes other alternatives viable options over just limiting yourself to one choice.

That said, boiling may reduce germ counts enough between uses so that you don’t end up picking unwanted bacterial infections from your nails` neatly clipped surface preventing nasty consequences down the road.

Key Takeaways

  1. Boiling-water technique effectively manages cleansing equipment such as toothbrushes
  2. Proper conditions should meet while boiling; refer table above
  3. Just because germs die-off does not ensure sterilization achieved
  4. Some bacterias remain unaffected by boiled-water method
    5.Three best options available after utilizing category discussed: Utilizing alcohol/hydrogen peroxide/UV light underwent consistent trials & show satisfactory performance in warding off microorganisms presence。

References:

(1) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090123220300890

(2)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195670111011325

(3) https://europepmc.org/article/pmc/5603451

(4) https://adorablesociety.com/how-to-disinfect-nail-clippers/

(5)https://bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12866-013-0178-y

(6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4011549/#:~:text=UV%20light%20has%20been%20shown,on%20tools%2Cincluding%20nailclippers.

Random Posts