Try This at Home: The World's Simplest Germ Killer
It's called HOCl.
Five years ago, the president almost said something smart.
The commander and chief wondered aloud, wouldn’t it be nice if we could somehow get bleach or sunlight inside the body? If he’d only known how close he was to saying something intelligent, that we do have a compound similar to bleach, that your own body already produces to fight germs. Oh, if someone had spoken up during that press conference and said, what about hypochlorous acid? In another universe, that happened. And we all lived happily ever after.
Instead:
Anti-vaxxers have taken over public health, and they’re now pushing bans on vaccines in Montana and Idaho. Other states will follow. The Trump administration themselves seem to be flirting with vaccine bans, even as they seem to secretly promise Big Pharma that no such thing will ever happen. All this comes at the worst possible time, as the U.S. invests hundreds of millions in developing mRNA vaccines for H5N1 bird flu, and flu in general looks like this:
According to Axios, we’re living through the worst flu season since 2009. In other words, it hasn’t been this bad since the last H1N1 pandemic. And for the first time, “we've seen cases of influenza that have surpassed COVID-19 in hospitalizations and deaths, since the COVID pandemic began," doctors say. So, the flu is becoming as dangerous as Covid, if not more so. Even the muzzled CDC estimates that flu hospitalizations could be reaching 820,000 total, with the vast majority of those within the last two months. It’s more severe than previous years, and “it’s hitting young children especially hard.” Things have already gotten very bad, and we still haven’t even seen bird flu hit full force.
Here’s the thing to remember about the flu:
It spreads through the air, and…
It lasts on surfaces.
We have strong evidence that many viruses spread through the air and surfaces. Fomites become aerosols when they’re disturbed, and aerosols become fomites when they settle. They exist on a continuum. But we don’t need to go back to hoarding cleaning products, because there’s a better way.
Is it really that important?
Yes.
One disturbing study from 2010 in Environmental Science & Technology found that H5N1 can last for two weeks on glass and steel surfaces at temperatures around 39F (3.9C), and up to two months under even cooler temperatures. A 2022 study in Emerging Infectious Diseases found that H5N1 can last longer than most other flu viruses, up 24-26 hours on plastic surfaces and 3-4.5 hours on human skin. Fortunately, disinfectants with 40 percent alcohol solution killed H5N1 and other flu viruses within 15 seconds. (I’d go with 60-70 percent.)
Some people want to know if it's time to start wiping down groceries again. Well, that doesn't sound weird at all, but you don’t need to freak out. You can make a powerful disinfectant called hypochlorous acid to help with surface transmission. You can make it in bulk, whenever you need.
You can read more here, here, and here.
How does it work?
The EPA breaks viruses down into three tiers, from weakest to toughest. Fortunately, viruses like Covid, Mpox, flu, and even Ebola fall into tier one. That means a standard solution of HOCl at .025 percent (250 ppm) can kill them. An overview on HOCl in the Journal of Dental Research found that Covid and flu “were each fully destroyed by only 100 ppm” within 30 seconds.
According to a review on HOCl in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, it kills through a process called chlorination “by forming chloramines and nitrogen-centered radicals, resulting in single as well as double-stranded DNA breaks, rendering the nucleic acid useless and the virus harmless.”
Sounds good so far…
Disinfectants with strong concentrations of HOCl (500 ppm) can kill tier 3 viruses when you follow the instructions, which work about the same as any other chemical. You spray. You wait several minutes. You wipe. You relax.
HOCl can work on surfaces and in the air with a mister. It’s gaining attention in the food industry, where it’s recently been shown to outperform other methods. It kills salmonella, listeria, and E. coli, which is good news. There’s even some evidence that it can work as a therapeutic. You can also use HOCl to purify water, the same way you’d use bleach. Medical researchers have known about HOCl for a while, but they’re still learning surprising new things about it. A 2024 study in Nature even found that a HOCl solution helped treat diabetic mice. Research has also linked excessive amounts of HOCl to some autoimmune disorders. That makes sense, because your body’s immune system produces HOCl to fight germs. (So if you have a condition like this, you’ll need to approach it with some caution.)
How sure are we that HOCl works?
Very sure.
The EPA and CDC both list it as an effective disinfectant. Plus, more studies have highlighted its use in fighting pathogens.
A 2023 study in Frontiers in Microbiology covers how hypochlorous acid destroys multiple viruses, including Covid. As the authors say, “it is one of the foremost endogenous molecules for effective phagocytosis of invading bacteria,” meaning it’s incredibly good at killing germs.
It knocks bleach out of the park, 80-100 times more effective.
Your own immune cells produce hypochlorous acid as a key defense against viruses and bacteria. It destroys the cell walls of invaders and deranges their proteins, killing them or their ability to replicate.
Research has shown that at 300 ppm, it doesn’t cause damage to human skin cells or lung tissue. However, a 2024 study found that you shouldn’t go over that amount. At 400-500 ppm, it becomes dangerous. If you’re going to use industrial-grade HOCl, treat it like it’s bleach. Fortunately, if you follow the directions, you’re not going to produce HOCl anywhere near 400 ppm on a home generator. The one we use has to run two cycles to reach 200 ppm.
HOCl has a long history.
Some sources trace its use back hundreds of years. The military started using hypochlorous acid during WWI to treat wounds, and they also used it to treat gangrene, diphtheria, and scarlet fever. Hypochlorous acid fell out of practice for a while because it was hard to keep stable. If you couldn’t test the pH or chlorine levels, it was also hard to tell you were making it right. With better tools and technology, it’s been making a comeback as a powerful disinfectant, and hospitals are using it to treat wounds and illness again. They’re also using it to facilitate healing after surgery. Dermatologists are using it to treat skin conditions where pathogens play a role. It’s becoming pretty commonplace in healthcare.
A 2023 study in BMC Oral Health recommends it as a mouthwash.
You can use hypochlorous acid almost anywhere. For example, a 2024 study in the Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy found that when you spray it on toys, it knocks down germ counts considerably.
The review in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery explains how it’s made as well as how long it lasts. To make it, you mix one gram of non-iodized salt and one teaspoon of vinegar into one liter of water, stir, and then run electrolysis. The process produces a solution that’s 50-200 parts per million (ppm) with a pH balance between five and seven. A lower pH and a higher ppm keep it stable longer, up to two weeks if you store it in a closed container away from sunlight. You can check it with pH and chlorine test strips when you’re done to make sure it works.
When the instructions say you should only use food-grade, non-iodized salt, they’re not kidding around. Don’t use anything else. In fact, some companies could stand to be a little clearer that you don’t want to be using sea salt or anything ambiguous. Some people have had negative skin reactions.
If you’re up for it, you can make your own HOCl from scratch. This page from the University of California at Berkeley explains how. You’re basically making your own electrolysis device in order to run a current through the water and separate the chemicals to make a chlorine solution that’s lower in pH than bleach, which is what makes it safer and more effective.
If you’re not the Bill Nye type or just not in the mood, you can buy HOCl generators online at various stores. A lot of people recommend the Eco One or the Force of Nature generators, but they’re just examples. You can make sure they work by getting test strips. Some kits come with their own strips.
You can also buy HOCl humidifiers.
Anecdotally, some people have said they’ve cleared viral infections by setting these up in their rooms overnight. Curious, I started searching for any studies on HOCl as an antiviral treatment. I found one clinical trial withdrawn with no follow-up. Then I found a study in a 2021 issue of the European Archives of Oto Rhino Laryngology that confirmed a HOCl spray led to a 99 percent efficacy in viral reduction “on both the nasal and oral mucosa” in less than one minute, without harmful effects. I found another study in a 2024 issue of Water & Health reviewing the uses of HOCl, concluding that concentrations as low as 30 ppm showed antiviral activity, and that HOCl in concentrations of 20-60 ppm was safe for animals to drink.
It looks to me like we have a potential compound that not only kills pathogens in the air and on surfaces, but could also clear up infections during the early stages. It works exactly like your immune system does. You can ingest it and even inhale it at the concentration your body produces (about 200-300 ppm), and it kills most of the germs you’re likely to come across.
I’ve poured HOCl into a regular humidifier a few times now and run it for a few hours, right next to me, and I felt fine.
If you have any health conditions or a serious autoimmune issue, you’ll want to do some more digging and talk to more experts before trying any experiments with HOCl humidifiers. I’ve run across at least one study that discusses excess amounts of it as a factor in diseases like arthritis and multiple sclerosis. So, more HOCl in your system might not be good for all of us.
So, we have a simple chemical that’s easy to make, safe for a large portion of the population, and incredibly effective at killing germs both inside and outside of our bodies. There has to be a catch, right? There has to be a good reason we’re not using it, other than the fact that it wouldn’t be profitable for corporations. That can’t possibly be the only reason, right?
Right…?
As our own government goes radically anti-science and threatens to ban crucial vaccines and treatments, I’d say it’s worth getting a HOCl generator or even learning how to make one yourself if you can. They might ban vaccines. They might ban masks. Even I don’t see them banning salt and vinegar.
Will they ban HOCl generators?
Well, I wouldn’t drag my feet.