How to Make Door Handles Self-Sanitizing

Over the past year, there has been a surge of interest in protecting high-touch surfaces from microbial contamination.  This has lead to a record volume of disinfectant use along with an untold amount of labor spent sanitizing surfaces with these chemicals.  

Door Handles can be made into self-sanitizing door handles with Copper Clean Self-Disinfecting Copper Covers

Door handles are often the most touched common surface in public buildings
      

However, the world is growing weary of constantly wiping down door handles with disinfectants and aerosolized chemicals.  The search for alternatives to disinfectant chemicals has led to a growing interest in self-sanitizing door handles.

Self-sanitizing door handles (or any self-sanitizing surface) limit the amount of labor spent disinfecting surfaces, curtail the use of harmful chemicals, and create surfaces that passively disinfect themselves - continuously around the clock.  

Disinfectant Chemicals used to sanitizing high-touch surfaces
The use of chemical disinfectants has risen dramatically in response to COVID19 and increased surface disinfection measures
  

On a traditional door handle, the microbial load is consistently going up, except for a few times each day (or week) when that surface is rapidly (and maybe only partially) disinfected.    

On a standard door handle, the surface gathers microbial load throughout the day. Then, the handle is disinfected - which theoretically takes the load to zero.  But, as soon as that disinfectant chemical dries, the next person to touch the door handle is re-loading it with microorganisms - a process which continues until the next cleaning.  

Self-sanitizing surfaces reverse the math in this equation.  With a self-sanitizing surface, the microbial count is constantly going down.  Trent Kelly, a doctoral candidate and Co-Founder of Copper Clean® discusses why self-sanitizing surfaces are so effective here. 

There have been many innovative solutions for creating door handles that passively disinfect themselves; a light-saber like handle with an embedded UV light source and photocatalytic coating; a magnet controlled squeegee that cleans door handles after each use; and, of course, multiple versions of the now ubiquitous copper door opener tool.  However, none of these products protect existing door handles from microbial contamination.  Rather, these solutions replace existing door handles with self-sanitizing versions, or, in the case of the latter, refrain from touch public door handles at all.  

Self Sanitizing Copper Cover Applied to Door Handle to create Self-Disinfecting Door Knob
Copper Clean® Antimicrobial Copper Covers are applied to door handles to create self-disinfecting door hardware 
  

Copper Clean® Self-Sanitizing Copper Covers provide a different approach to door handle hygiene.  Rather than completely replacing your existing door handle with a complicated contraption, Copper Clean® allows concerned facility managers to retrofit existing door handles (as well as other high-touch surfaces) with the self-disinfecting power of EPA registered antimicrobial copper.

Copper Clean® Self Sanitizing Copper Covers are durable, copper alloy stickers made from EPA registered antimicrobial copper foil.  Our patches are the only self-sanitizing door handle wraps that are registered by both the US EPA and Health Canada PRMA as effective against microorganisms that cause diseases in humans.  Copper Clean® products are proven to kill 99.9% of organisms such as MRSA, E.Coli, VRE, Staph, and others.  Recently, some antimicrobial copper alloys have even been deemed effective against the virus that causes COVID-19 by the EPA.  No other self-disinfecting door handle wrap can legally make claims against these organisms.

In addition to the effectiveness of Copper Clean® at killing germs and microorganisms, our self-disinfecting copper covers are incredibly easy to purchase, install, and maintain.  No power source, UV light, or chemical refills required.

 

The Copper Clean® process works like this:


1. Evaluate your facility to determine which door handles are the most prone to contamination.  These handles are often found on the main entrance doors, bathroom doors, central office doors, meeting rooms, lobby doors, break rooms, and high-traffic offices.  


2.  Take note of the size and style of the door handles on these spaces.  


3.  Visit the Copper Clean® Product Page to purchase the appropriate number of self-sanitizing door handle wraps.  If unsure which sizes or styles of Copper Clean® products are right for your facility, our solution associates are standing by to help you select the proper sizes for your specific door handles.  Email us for help in selecting your Copper Clean® products.  Orders ship within 2 business days.  


4.  Once you receive your products, application is easy.  Simply clean your door handles to remove existing grime.  Peel the backing from the Copper Clean® Surface Patch to expose the self-adhering coating.  Stick the patch onto the door handle and secure from the middle of the patch outwards.  Firmly press edges of the copper cover down to secure to the surface.  Instantly, the Copper Clean® Copper Cover is protecting the door handle from transmitting germs and microorganisms from person to person within your facility. 

Copper Clean Self-Sanitizing Door Bar in US Airport

Copper Clean® Self-Sanitizing Copper Cover applied to crash bars on exit doors in US airport terminal.   

Copper Clean® Self-Sanitizing Copper Covers are designed, mined, and manufactured in the USA at EPA registered facilities.  Their self-disinfecting properties are currently protecting over 10,000 touch points across the US, Canada, and Europe, including international airports, a world-renowned zoo, furniture retailers, commercial real estate properties, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and public transit systems.