An antimicrobial is a chemical or treatment intended to kill, slow, or control microorganisms identified as bacteria, fungi, or viruses.

They may be:

• Added to soaps, wipes, cleaners, and disinfectants

• Incorporated into plastics, textiles, coatings, and building materials

• Used on toys, cutting boards, clothing, bedding, and other consumer products

• Used for specific medical or infection-control purposes

The word “antimicrobial” alone does not tell you what a product will do.

The chemical, claim, intended use, and directions matter.

Toys, play surfaces, and other children’s products

Cutting boards, food containers, and utensils

Socks, athletic clothing, shoes, towels, and bedding

Carpeting, flooring, shower curtains, mattresses, and pillows

Backpacks, reusable bags, phone cases, and other plastic products

Paints, caulks, adhesives, and other treated materials

An antimicrobial may reduce microorganisms measured on a surface or material. That does not automatically demonstrate fewer infections in people.

The evidence for antimicrobial environmental interventions varies by product, setting, and outcome.

A 2004 randomized, double-blind trial followed 238 households containing 1,178 people, including at least one preschool-age child, for 48 weeks.

Households were assigned to use either antibacterial or non-antibacterial products for general cleaning, laundry, and handwashing.

The tested antibacterial products did not reduce the risk of viral infectious-disease symptoms compared with the non-antibacterial products. The researchers noted that this did not rule out a possible effect on bacterial disease.

Why this study matters

The study tested real household use over nearly a year, rather than simply measuring whether a chemical could kill bacteria in a laboratory.

Researchers also examined bacteria collected from participants’ hands.

The antibacterial products included a hand soap containing 0.2% triclosan. The study found no statistically significant association between elevated triclosan susceptibility measures and antibiotic susceptibility, although the researchers observed trends that they said warranted further study. They concluded that a clear association between elevated triclosan MICs and antibiotic resistance outside the laboratory had not been demonstrated.

The takeaway

Research into antimicrobial resistance is important — but the evidence should not be overstated.Laboratory studies can show that bacteria adapt to antimicrobial chemicals. Whether particular consumer exposures lead to clinically important antibiotic resistance in people is a more complicated question.

Research indicates that some bacteria can develop tolerance or reduced susceptibility to certain biocides, including quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs).

Researchers are investigating whether these adaptations can contribute to antibiotic resistance. Evidence varies by chemical, exposure, and setting.

“Can select for tolerance” is not the same as “causes resistant infections.”

Antimicrobial chemicals are designed to affect microorganisms. Researchers are studying whether repeated exposure can alter microbial communities in the human body and environment and what those changes may mean for health.

Some studies report associations between particular antimicrobial exposures and health outcomes, but associations do not by themselves establish cause and effect.

1. What is the product claiming to do? Kill bacteria? Reduce odor? Prevent mold? Disinfect?

2. Is it protecting the product — or protecting people?

3. What chemical or treatment is being used? Look for the active ingredient or ask the manufacturer.

4. Has the claimed benefit actually been demonstrated?Reducing microbes is not necessarily the same as reducing illness.

5. Could a simpler approach work? Cleaning · Washing · Drying · Moisture control · Targeted disinfection

Know what it is designed to do.

Know what chemical or treatment is being used.

Know whether you actually need it.

California’s Healthy Schools Act (HSA) establishes requirements for pesticide use at public K–12 schools and public and private child care centers (excluding family child care homes). The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) administers the program in coordination with the California Department of Education.

The schoolsite IPM Coordinator and anyone who applies a pesticide as part of their work at a covered schoolsite must complete Healthy Schools Act training. This can include custodians, maintenance and grounds staff, teachers, nurses, and volunteers—if they apply pesticides, including disinfectants or surface sanitizers.
Schoolsite staff must complete the training before applying a pesticide and annually thereafter. Licensed pest management professionals have a separate requirement: they must complete the training during each license-renewal period in which they apply pesticides at schoolsites.

Pesticides include products intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or control pests. The definition includes antimicrobial pesticides used on surfaces and other inanimate objects—for example, disinfectants and sanitizers used on desks, counters, toys, and other school surfaces.
Topical antiseptics applied to people, such as hand sanitizers, are not covered by the HSA because they are regulated by the FDA rather than as pesticides under this program.

A product marketed to disinfect or sanitize surfaces, or to kill specified germs, generally must be registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), unless it qualifies for a specific legal exemption. Look for the EPA Registration Number on the label and verify that the product is approved for the intended use.
Do not assume that a product is approved for surface disinfection simply because its label says “antibacterial,” “antimicrobial,” or “kills 99.9% of germs.” Check the EPA registration and the product label.
Important: Certain legally exempt pesticide products, such as qualifying minimum-risk pesticides under FIFRA Section 25(b), do not carry an EPA registration number. Therefore, the absence of an EPA registration number does not, by itself, establish that a product is illegal to use.

Antimicrobial pesticides, including surface disinfectants and sanitizers, are exempt from certain HSA requirements such as annual notification, posting, recordkeeping, and reporting. That exemption does not eliminate the training requirement. Anyone who applies these products at a covered schoolsite must still complete the required HSA training.

Remember: Training is required before use and annually thereafter for schoolsite staff. The law's July 1, 2016 date marks when the training requirement took effect; it is not a yearly renewal deadline.