You've probably been cleaning your home's surfaces a lot more recently. While most disinfectant products will leave your countertops smelling fresh while reducing the number of germs and bacteria, not all products are actually powerful enough to completely wipe out those real bad guys. We're talking about viral pathogens, such as the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.
On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two products, both created by Lysol, that had been deemed effective against SARS-CoV-2 after laboratory testing. The two products are: Lysol Disinfectant Spray and Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist.
Currently, these products appear to be out of stock online for retailers like Amazon and Target. However, they may be in stock at your local store. For example, Target has discontinued the Lysol Disinfectant Spray for online ordering, but is still stocking its shelves with the product.
But remember: Having these products on hand will give you an extra level of armor against the virus, but only if you are properly using them. Lysol explains on its website and in the video below that in order to effectively disinfect surfaces, the surface must be sprayed for three to four seconds, from six to eight inches away. Let the surface remain wet for three minutes and allow it to air dry before using. For surfaces that contain norovirus, the surface must remain wet for 10 minutes and let to air dry. If spray is used on toys or food contact surfaces, rinse with water after the spray has officially air dried.
What about all the other disinfectant products on the market? Are they safe?
The EPA notes that before products can legally make claims that they can kill a particular pathogen such as SARS-CoV-2, the products must be evaluated and authorized by the agency. However, for the EPA to test these products' effectiveness, it needs samples of the virus, which are typically not immediately available.
Earlier this year, the EPA released List N, which contains more than 420 disinfectant products that the agency had OK'ed as safe to use for protection against SARS-CoV-2. However, these products were never officially tested in the EPA lab, but rather the EPA had reviewed each product’s data, submitted by manufacturers. Now, the EPA will double check these products' effectiveness by testing them first-hand in the lab.
The EPA writes that it expects to approve more claims for additional List N products in the coming weeks. This means that if you have any of the products on the list, you can still continue using them as they have met the EPA's criteria for protection against SARS-CoV-2. They just have not been tested by the EPA in the lab yet.
![premiere for neon's "ferrari" arrivals](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/giada-de-laurentiis-attends-the-premiere-of-neons-ferrari-news-photo-1752331821.pjpeg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.109xw,0&resize=360:* "Premiere For Neon's "Ferrari" - Arrivals")
