3 ms·
TL:DR Soap (and solvents, and alcohols for that matter) reacts with (and therefore breaks down) the types of molecules that make up oils and fats and the viruse
by dsfyu404ed 7y ago
TL:DR Soap (and solvents, and alcohols for that matter) reacts with (and therefore breaks down) the types of molecules that make up oils and fats and the viruses in question are held together by fats.
- undersuit 7y agoThe ability for soaps to clean hinges on the same physical manifestation that keep creates hollow cells for life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micelle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micelle
- dsfyu404ed 7y agoDepends on if your definition of clean is to render the contaminant inert (which is going to basically always involve some sort of chemical reaction) or to just move it elsewhere. If you want to wash the problem down the drain then making large clumps out of the offending molecules helps. If you want to actually alter the offending molecules then you'll probably not want something that makes clumps. This is why doctor's wash their hands while janitors wipe down surfaces with disinfectants.
- amluto 7y agoSoap does not generally react with molecules in dirt or virus, not does it break them down. Soap interacts with the molecules in a way that pulls them apart from each other. All the original virus molecules are intact when they get soapy — they’re just no longer assembled into a functional virus.