House for sick SC patients gets copper fixtures

[Merwanseth]

The Ronald McDonald House in Charleston, SC is installing hundreds of thousands of dollars in copper fixtures as a way to cut down on infection.


http://www2.scnow.com/news/2012/jan/03/ ... .ly/txGSXq

[twentybux]

Hmmmm....interesting. Thanks for posting.

[NHsorter]

Cool, I think that in hospitals they should have everything made out of copper. EVERYTHING! This could help drive up the market. And we all know that hospitals have plenty of cash to spare. Better yet, they should use silver. I believe that it does an even better job than copper.

[cesariojpn]

Cool, I think that in hospitals they should have everything made out of copper. EVERYTHING! This could help drive up the market. And we all know that hospitals have plenty of cash to spare. Better yet, they should use silver. I believe that it does an even better job than copper.

Copper is a natural disinfectant. Notice the next time you go into a hospital, the majority of hospital doors will have copper fixtures.

Silver on the other hand, is limited to medical applications like burns and other injuries.

[NHsorter]

I thought that silver was a natural disinfectant as well? Silver dime in you water canteen, etc. They have water filters that use silver in them. I think there is a lot of history.

[Bluegill]

I thought that silver was a natural disinfectant as well?

It is. Slightly better than Cu. You are also correct, there is a long history of Ag being used as such. If one gets a chance, research how the term "born with a silver spoon in your mouth" came to be...

Even when alloyed down to a yellow brass, Cu is still an excellent disinfectant. Research has shown that a brass doorknob will disinfect itself in 24 hours. Obviously it can't be lacquer coated.