USE OF BRASS IN DOOR HANDLES FOR KILLING GERMS

Antimicrobial copper-alloy / Brass touch surfaces can prevent frequently touched surfaces like DOOR HANDLES & KNOBS from serving as reservoirs for the spread of pathogenic microbes, which can sometimes survive on surfaces for more than 30 days.

The surfaces of copper and its alloys, such as brass and bronze, are antimicrobial. They have an inherent ability to kill a wide range of harmful microbes relatively rapidly – often within two hours or less – and with a high degree of efficiency. These antimicrobial properties have been demonstrated by an extensive body of research.

Brasses, which were frequently used for doorknobs and push plates in past decades, also demonstrate bactericidal efficacies, but within a somewhat longer time frame than pure copper. All nine brasses tested were almost completely bactericidal (more than 99.9% kill rate) at 20 °C within 60–270 minutes. Many brasses were almost completely bactericidal at 4 °C within 180–360 minutes.

Laboratory testing has shown that copper and its alloys, brass and bronze, kill more than 99.9 percent of bacteria & virus, such as the superbug Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, within two hours. What this means in the real world is that high-traffic touch surfaces in schools, hospitals, offices & even homes, can be made inherently antimicrobial (as long as they are cleaned regularly of dirt or residue that can prevent contact with the surface)

Unlike copper alloys, stainless steel does not exhibit any degree of bactericidal properties against these microbes. This material, which is one of the most common touch surface materials in the healthcare industry, allows toxic microbes to remain viable for weeks. Near-zero bacterial counts are not observed even after 28 days of investigation. Epifluorescence photographs have demonstrated that E. coli O157:H7 is almost completely killed on copper alloy C10200 after just 90 minutes at 20 °C; whereas a substantial number of pathogens remain on stainless steel S30400.

You can also do BRASS COATING on existing Stainless Steel Door Handles to make it Anti Microbial