Why Is Alcohol Really A Superior Disinfectant?

Alcohol is a superior disinfectant if there ever was any. You might have consumed alcohol for recreational purposes, and noticed its effects on your nervous system. You might have used perfumes without realizing that alcohol is used as the base for most perfumes.

Yet, as far as disinfectants are concerned, there’s not much competition. Alcohol has established itself as one of the most superior elements to kill germs.

It’s not just germs though; alcohol kills just about everything it comes in contact with. It is this nature of alcohol that made me curious enough to ask the question:

“What about alcohol makes it so efficient in killing stuff?”

In this article, I will be trying to answer this question succinctly. I will also be trying to use simple language that anybody can understand.

This essay is supported by Generatebg

How Is Alcohol Made?

To get to our ultimate answer, it makes sense to understand the origins of alcohol first. Alcohol is born when fungal microorganisms known as Yeasts consume and break down natural sugars found in fruits, wheat, corn, etc.

We define this breakdown process as fermentation. For fermentation to occur, the environmental conditions for the Yeasts must be suitable. Think about temperature, moisture, etc.

This is why Wine is often made in cellars; the Yeasts don’t thrive in dry environments.

Alcohol is Very Sticky

Chemically speaking, the word ‘alcohol’ refers to a family of chemical compounds which are technically known as hydroxl compounds (R-O-H). The speciality of this family of compounds is the affinity they show towards bonding with foreign molecules.

In the process of bonding, however, these hydroxyl compounds dissolve the foreign molecules they are bonding with.

A Sticky Situation Turns Ugly

When alcohol comes in contact with organic substances such as microorganisms, it dissolves their cell membranes.

Furthermore, once the membranes are dissolved, the alcohol marches on forward, trying to bond with everything that is inside the cells. In the process, the subjected microorganisms are killed.

For easier understanding, you may visualize alcohol as a spike strip. It tries to stick to soft stuff by gripping into the stuff with its spikes. As the strip moves back and forth, it rips apart the top layer of the soft stuff, and moves further into the soft stuff, repeating the same process.

Human Beings Are No Exception!

This doesn’t just stop with microorganisms though. Whenever you come in contact with alcohol (either by consuming it or with your skin), the same process happens. But we don’t feel the effects strongly because of two reasons:

1. The alcohol usually does not stay in our system long enough to have a lasting effect (via excretion or evaporation).
2. Alcohol suppresses our central nervous system. Therefore, we become less sensitive to sensory feedback.

Why Use a Disinfectant If It Is Dangerous for Human Beings?

The way snake poison works is very similar to how alcohol works. The only difference is that snake venom is far more efficient than alcohol; a very little quantity does a lot of damage. So, in a way, alcohol can be considered a mild poison.

Given long enough, alcohol would be dangerous for human beings as well. It just happens to be the case that we are able to get away with exposure to alcohol for short durations.

Within this short duration, however, the other microorganisms in our skin or other systems do not survive their encounter with alcohol. This is why alcohol is used as a disinfectant.

We are essentially able to outlast our contaminants (germs) with minimal ill-effects when exposed to alcohol for short durations of time.

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Further reading that might interest you: Why is The New COVID Variant Called “Omnicron” and not “Nu”? and What Really Happens To Your Knees When You Gain 1 KG.