A Disinfectant That’s More Powerful Than Bleach—And Safe for Your Skin

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.3 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2025

⏱️ 14 minutes

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Summary

Hypochlorous acid is a promising disinfectant that is difficult to commercialize because it is not very shelf-stable. Senior features editor Jen Schwartz takes us through what the science of this nontoxic disinfectant is and explains why its popularity in the beauty aisle is only the beginning. Recommended reading: The Nontoxic Cleaner That Kills Germs Better Than Bleach—And You Can Use It on Your Skin https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hypochlorous-acid-is-trending-in-skin-care-and-cleaning-but-does-it-work/ E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Jen Schwartz. Our show is edited by Alex Sugiura with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics at Scientific American.
0:05.0	Like many kids, I once dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
0:08.0	While I never made it to space, my work at Scientific American has given me the next best thing,
0:13.0	exploring the cosmos through stories and sharing its wonders with science lovers like you.
0:19.0	When I research a story, I immerse myself in the reporting
0:21.9	to bring you an exciting and accurate account. Over the years, I've covered breathtaking rocket
0:26.9	launches, visited one of the world's highest altitude telescopes in Chile, and even trained for
0:32.2	suborbital spaceflight. Space is vast, beautiful, and full of the unexpected. Taking a moment to look beyond our daily routines and reflect on its mysteries can be a powerful escape.
0:44.1	Join me on this journey of discovery.
0:46.4	Subscribe to Scientific American today at siam.com slash getsyam.
1:03.1	Music slash get-Syam. For Scientific American Science quickly, I'm Rachel Feltman. With everything from bird flu to neurovirus making headlines these days,
1:23.3	it can feel like the world is just packed with dangerous pathogens we need protection from.
1:28.9	What if we could get a hand from an all-natural disinfectant that was more than 100 times more
1:34.4	effective than bleach, but so gentle and safe that you could spray it into your eyes?
1:40.5	It might sound like the sort of quackery you'd get sold in a shady Facebook group, but such a compound really does exist.
1:47.9	It's called hypochlorous acid.
1:50.2	And in addition to all of those awesome qualities I just listed, it's also cheap.
1:55.2	Plus, you can make it at home.
1:57.4	So why don't we use it for, like, everything?
2:00.8	Here to explain is Jen Schwartz, a senior features editor for Scientific American.
2:05.6	Jen, thanks so much for coming on to chat today.
2:07.8	Thanks for having me.
	...

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