There is a lot of discussion these days about the best method of sanitizing our homes and at some point in the future, our diving equipment.
Just after Hurricane Harvey we looked into the best way to sanitize scuba equipment that was underwater in the flood. What we found was that a product we had already been using to sanitize our rebreather lungs would also work to decontaminate the equipment exposed to Harvey’s flood waters.
Now comes the next wave of concern COVID-19. In looking at the EPA’s recomendations for sanitizing our homes we find some of the same recomendation we found then — Bleach being the leading recomedation. But looking at it a little further, we find that the same product we recommended for Harvey can also be used to help combat COVID-19 in our homes and with less harmful effects than bleach solutions.
The manufacturers website states “Our tablets are used to sanitize food contact surfaces and equipment in Restaurants, Bars, Daycares, Gyms, Assisted Living Facilities, Hotels, Schools and other industries. This product fulfills the sanitizing criteria of the U.S. Public Health Service.
STERAMINE SANITIZING TABLETS are approved by the EPA and accepted by the USDA as a safe and effective sanitizer for glassware, countertops, tables, utensils, beverage equipment, frozen dessert machines, scuba equipment and any other food contact surfaces and equipment to kill:
- CA-MRSA (Community Associated Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
- Escherichia coli
- HIV-1 (Aids Virus)
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Staphylococcus aureus”
The active ingredient in Steramine, quaternary ammonium, is on the EPA list of antimicrobial agents that meet their criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 novel coronavirus). Steramine has a long history of use that meets the public health and regulatory criteria of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). New York lists specific products that meed these guidelines and you will find Stramine on the list.
With all of this in mind, We think Steramine is an alternative in the fight against COVID-19 and other viruses and bacteria. It is an item regularly stock.
Learning to dive sidemount is not difficult and our program is designed to get you started with your new equipment configuration and to help you begin to feel comfortable. Of course you will need to go diving to truly internalize what you have learned. You can look at the program applying the Diver’s Diamond:
