Do Natural Disinfectants Really Work?

In this uncertain new world, using disinfectants is part of the daily routine. But we care about using clean ingredients, so with every wipe of the counter, we wonder: Do natural cleaners and disinfectants actually kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19?

The answer: It depends — so it’s critical to read labels and do a little digging.

“We always want to use the safest possible household cleaners, made without toxic or environmentally damaging ingredients,” says Merryfield Co-Founder Joe Dickson. “But with disinfectants, we also need to make be sure that they’re effective against pathogens. Fortunately, there are some options that are great disinfectants that use carefully vetted natural ingredients.” 

Only disinfectant ingredients approved by the EPA can be labeled as effective against SARS-CoV-2, and they appear on EPA’s “List-N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2.” All the products on the list have been shown to be effective against viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2 or other hard-to-kill viruses. Not surprisingly, chlorine qualifies — but so do formulas with many naturally-derived disinfectants: 

·  thymol (from essential oils)

·  ethyl alcohol (ethanol)

·  caprylic acid (octanoic acid)

·  hydrogen peroxide

·  L-lactic acid

Some of our clean, effective favorites are Seventh Generation Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner and Clean Well Botanical Disinfectant All Purpose Cleaner, both of which use thymol as an active ingredient. Unlike other virus-killing ingredients, thymol is a plant-based disinfectant derived from essential oils.

Finally, always read the directions for disinfecting on the product label, as most need to sit on a surface for a specified period of time to effectively disinfect.