How Clean is Too Clean

Sanitization is everything in the modern era. In can have a very negative effect on our health and hygiene however good we may think it is. Studies were conducted telling us that bad hygiene and refusing to clean our environment can lead to the spread of dangerous viruses but recent light has also exposed information that not being exposed to any form of dust or bacteria can weaken our immune systems and become ill much easier. That is why public spaces like schools and stores try hard to keep everything clean while not being ‘germophobic-ally clean’.

               Do you realize just how their cleaning process is completed though? Do you realize just what kind dirt is left behind after they clean? I mean, don’t get me wrong; I know how difficult it is to deep clean some things and I know we shouldn’t be going crazy with disinfectant but some recent events have come to light that are a bit fascinating while also disgusting.

               Of late, I have been meeting with some friends in a chemistry organization on my college campus and one activity we enjoy is freezing ice cream with liquid nitrogen. After the cream encounters the below freezing liquid, it does not retain any of the harmful chemicals. In fact, liquid nitrogen evaporates rather spontaneously when exposed to room temperature. Anyway, we had to empty the contents of the canister the science department had provided us with and we were a bit tired of ice cream, thus we proceeded to conduct our own sort of experiment. After clearing the floor of any materials which may be viable to the cold temperature of liquid nitrogen; we slowly, and in small amounts; poured the contents of the canister into the center of the room. All particles of dirt which had been trapped in the creases and cracks of the floor froze and condensed into small beads which then rolled to the edges of the room. Multiple attempts at pouring the contents out all led to the same results and by the end of the night there was an inch-thick layer of dirt creating a perimeter around the room.

               This experiment has not been discussed outside the group but it is just miraculous how we can proudly say that our school takes pride in cleaning every classroom every night yet we can displace so much dirt and bacteria from the floor.

               So honestly, how clean is too clean and how dirty is not clean enough?