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How to disinfect packages from COVID-19

If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans under home quarantine, then you’ve probably turned to online retail for making purchases of everything from basic food staples to home-school supplies. But evidence is increasingly pointing toward the possibility that coronavirus spreads more via contact with contaminated surfaces than it does through the air, which means making online purchases isn’t a surefire way to avoid exposing yourself to potential infection.

Update: Fact-checking the CDC’s new guidance: you should still disinfect packages

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Avoid the delivery person. If the option is available, choose a “no contact” delivery.
  • Treat the package as a biohazard, which means taking precautions if you have to touch it (gloves, washing hands, etc.)
  • It’s safest and cheapest to wait at least five days before handling or opening the package. While the virus dies off on cardboard in about 24 hours, it lives much longer on other materials. If the warehouse worker who packed the item or delivery person who dropped it off was infected, then there could be virus present not only on the cardboard or paper of the package, but on any plastic tape, labels, or inside the packaging.
  • If you choose to disinfect instead of waiting it out, use a cleaner from the EPA’s approved list.
  • You can use ultraviolet light to disinfect, but it’s complicated, expensive, and hard to recommend.

Sizing up the threats

The first threat of coronavirus infection comes from the delivery person, who will often still walk right up to you and hand you the package if you’re standing outside. Whenever I see a delivery truck pull up I run in the house if I’m out in my yard. That makes me feel a little like Dale from King of the Hill, but better safe than sorry.

The second threat is the package itself. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that SARS-CoV-2 can survive on cardboard for up to 24 hours and plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours. WebMD reports that coronavirus can survive on wood for up to four days and on ceramics, glass, paper, and non-stainless metals for up to five days. So you need to treat every package that arrives at your doorstep as a threat. There have already been Amazon warehouse workers who have tested positive for the virus who could be contaminating packages.

A chart from the New England Journal of Medicine showing how SARS-CoV-2 decays on surfaces over time.
A chart from the New England Journal of Medicine showing how SARS-CoV-2 decays on surfaces over time.

The third threat is the contents of the package. As I mentioned above, the virus can live on surfaces for up to five days. As far as we know, this is as long as the virus can survive, so after being rude and unsociable to your poor delivery driver, the next precaution you want to take is to wait at least five days before opening any packages.

The first threat is the easiest to deal with, but the third is also pretty easy to handle via this time-saving hack:

If you’re in a hurry to open your package, you could decontaminate the outside of the box using one of the aforementioned methods, and then retrieve the contents after waiting five days from the time the order was dropped off at the carrier for shipping. You can figure out when your package was definitely sealed up for shipping (and its contents shielded from further contamination) by looking up the tracking number with the carrier. Understand that tracking starts when a label is generated, not necessarily when the product is boxed up. So when calculating the time, you want to start with an entry like “package has left the carrier facility,” because then you know for sure that the item was boxed up by then.

Package has left the carrier facility

As for dealing with possible contamination of the packaging box (the third threat, above), that’s the trickiest. Here are some possible solutions:

Leave the box on the porch and wait

The cheapest method for disinfecting your deliveries is to let the box sit untouched for at least five days to let any virus that may be on the box die off. If SARS-CoV-2 only lives 24 hours on cardboard, why wait the full five days? Because parcels aren’t just cardboard, there is almost certainly tape and plastic-containing labels on the outside. Giving the box a full five days before touching it minimizes your risk as much as possible.

If you have a well-covered porch in a low-crime neighborhood, you might let boxes sit for a few days. But this isn’t a foolproof method.

It’s been raining hard at my house, so any package would be soaked by the time the five-day period was up. Also, I have small children, and trying to get them to not touch a mystery box is impossible. And what if another package is placed on the first package? You’ll have to double the quarantine time and hope the stack doesn’t grow.

Quarantine the box in a dedicated area

An upgraded version of the “wait it out” method is to have a special area set aside to quarantine packages for five days or longer. If you have an attached garage or a nearby shed, you could arrange for the delivery person to drop the packages off in there, or you could don gloves and move it there yourself (wash your hands afterward!).

This method is easier if you have a regular delivery person. Alternatively, you could include those instructions with your order (if there is a field to enter special instructions) or leave a note on the door.

Disinfect the box with chemicals

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains a list of cleaners effective against SARS-CoV-2, which includes common disinfectant wipes and products like Lysol.

If you can’t find your cleaner on the list, you can also check to see if the active ingredient is effective or check the EPA Registration Number on the product package (some products are sold by different brand names but share the same EPA number). Note on the chart how long the disinfectant takes to work. A quick spritz might reduce contamination, but you want to give the chemical time to complete the job.

As for non-commercial cleaners, alcohol works, but the Centers for Disease Control recommends at least a 60% concentration, so you can’t just dump Jack Daniels on your package and call it a day — though pure grain alcohol would work.

Per a very early study on SARS-COV-2, you can disable coronaviruses within one minute using a blend of 62-71% ethanol, 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, or 0.1% sodium hypochlorite. This specific blend is the method used by many healthcare workers right now, judging by the number of hospital and medical device maker pages we’ve seen it cited on. So if you have those ingredients on hand, then you can use what the pros are using.

Unfortunately, while vinegar is a great cleaner in general, Dr. David Evans, a professor of Medical Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Alberta, says it probably won’t kill the coronavirus.

Lysol is my personal weapon of choice. I spray the visible sections of the boxes, wait a few minutes, grab the disinfected portion, flip the boxes, and spray the rest. I then wash my hands and then wait three days before opening the package. But sadly, my Lysol stash won’t last forever, and it’s uncertain what the supply will like when I run out. So we need to think ahead to more sustainable methods. (I haven’t ruled out building a still to produce my own disinfectant and hand sanitizer).

The author disinfecting a package with Lysol.

Irradiate the box with ultraviolet light

WHO warnings about UV-C skin irritation

While it hasn’t been specifically tested with the coronavirus, UV-C lights have been proven highly effective at destroying viruses, bacteria, and fungi, and the coronavirus isn’t especially resilient. Microbiologist Alex Berezow says it should probably work. However, there are a number of caveats.

One problem is that there isn’t a hard and fast rule for how long it takes the light to work. That depends on the bulb output, the cleanliness of the bulb, and what you’re disinfecting. The best advice is to follow manufacturer recommendations, but understand that it takes a little time—you can’t just flash a light at a box and expect it to be clean.

Another problem is that UV-C light can cause skin and eye irritation, so you need to be careful about how you use it. You should wear eye protection that blocks ultraviolet light.

There are a number of UV-C products on the market. It’s easy to buy a small UV-C box to disinfect toothbrushes and other personal items, but the trick is devising a setup that works with large boxes.

You could use a device like this UV-C wand, which claims to work in only seconds, and slowly pass it over the box, though I’m not sure how well that would actually work.

If you have a garage, you could replace regular fluorescent light tubes with UV-C lights, but it’s not clear how effective that would be and you’d also be introducing a safety hazard.

If you have $5000 to spend, you could purchase a Flashbox disinfection chamber, or you could be handy like Kevin Klingaman and build your own chamber out of cardboard and a UV-C bulb with an emission peak close to 253 nm.

You might think that just leaving a package in the sun would work, but natural sunlight is not strong enough to kill the virus.

I’m overall a bit skeptical of the UV method due to the impracticality and uncertainties around disinfection time. I don’t want to leave my family’s health to guesswork.

But if you’re running low on quality disinfectants, and leaving the box on the porch or in a dedicated quarantine area isn’t an option for you, then it’s better than nothing.


  • 31 Comments

    • Bad Karma
      6 |
    • Holly

      I never thought of this.  Good info, thanks!

      9 |
    • Christopher Hamersley
      [comment deleted]
      5 |
    • Ryan Simmons
      [comment deleted]
      5 |
    • Angel Bunni

      I have an Ikea hyllis shelf unit with plastic cover that I put an ozone generator in. All mail and packages go into it. Packages that are too large are sprayed with a hospital grade disinfectant.

      7 |
    • DC

      CDC reported the virus survived on surfaces in infected member’s cabins of the Diamond Princess cruise ship for up to 17 days and says more research is needed.

      https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e3.htm

      5 |
      • Josh CentersContributor DC

        My understanding is that RNA was found, not necessarily active virus. In any case, stay away from cruise ships.

        6 |
    • DC

      Heat has reported to kill the virus at 56C for 15 minutes. Another report stated that N95’s can be sterilized if cooked for 30min at 70C. Maybe useful when the alcohol runs out to have a digital laser thermometer to spot check the outside of a package after it’s cooked using an outdoor oven/heater/fire.

      4 |
      • Josh CentersContributor DC

        I believe we’re looking into the roasting angle. Stay tuned.

        9 |
      • Thomas Jorgenson DC

        From all reports, the virus dies at 145 degrees and above, which means that, theoretically, you can heat up your toaster oven to 200 degrees and insert appropriate items for 3 minutes or so.  Not long enough to burn the item, but long enough to toast the little buggers.

        Note that this is an assumption and needs to be checked out before relying on it.

        5 |
      • Thomas Jorgenson DC

        Converting C to F:  Double the number and add 30.

        Converting F to C:  Deduct 30 and divide in half.

        5 |
      • David Green Thomas Jorgenson

        That formula is very ballpark! It’s actually 9/5C+32=F, and (F-32)*5/9=C. Yes, much harder to remember, but the 56°C example above using your formula gives 142°F, when the actual answer is 132.8℉.

        6 |
      • Christopher Hamersley DC

        https://stanfordmedicine.app.box.com/v/covid19-PPE-1-1

        n95 mask reuse ’70 degree C hot air in an oven (typical kitchen-type of oven will do) for 30min’.

        8 |
      • I put an N95 mask into my toaster oven at 200°F/93°C. I learned that many parts of the mask are not cloth, but plastic. Those parts melted within a couple of minutes, leaving the mask unusable.

        5 |
      • DC David Green

        I read one person detached the straps before cooking. I’m guessing if it had a breather valve, typically plastic, guessing that has to be removed as well.

        6 |
      • trpph DC
        5 |
    • J9

      How about if I open it outside, throw all packing in the the trash, and wipe down the item with a disinfectant wipe, then wash my hands?

      8 |
      • David Green J9

        I was wondering the same thing myself: If a thorough washing of hands before and after opening the package would suffice?

        5 |
      • John AdamaStaff J9

        Yeah, that can work. I’d wear gloves too.

        7 |
      • DC J9

        I’m going to let them sit for at least 3 days after shipped, Amazon makes this difficult with their courier service, but a standard tracking number will tell me when it left the shippers warehouse. I’ll assume the carrier isn’t going to open the package.

        If its something I need asap or if it’s perishable, have to wipe down every inch. The issue there is I don’t know if disturbing the package will throw the virus in the air. I have to be safe and assume it will, thus need mask and goggles and act very slow when moving anything non-sterile, including my person.

         

         

        5 |
      • Jasper41 DC

        As far as the virus becoming airborne after disturbing, just think the same way while cleaning things. Our work has trained us to first spray a cleaning rag or paper towel when using aerosol cleaners instead of spraying directly on the surface, as this could make the virus airborne. More applicable for hard surfaces but possible for shipping materials. Just seems like a common sense precaution and thought I’d mention it.

        4 |
    • Liz Bergmann

      I just received a rug that I ordered from Wayfair. It is sitting in my garage right now for at least 72 hours. It is in original packing of heavy duty plastic completely sealed tight at both ends. What are your suggestions for how and when I can open same and put it in my living room?
      thanks! Liz

      7 |
      • Josh CentersContributor Liz Bergmann

        I’ll be honest, I have no idea how long the virus lives on rugs. There have been reports of SARS-COV-2 RNA being detected in cruise ship cabins up to 17 days after they’re unoccupied, but there’s debate around if that’s actually transmissible. My suspicion is that it can live in carpet longer than most surfaces (because carpet is gross). So I might suggest just leaving it in the garage for a whole month to be sure.

        6 |
    • DC
      4 |
    • Sam Will

      Although your suggestion is a good idea there is one factor that you didn’t address.
      UPS is becoming an unreliable shipper because I was supposed to receive a package from Amazon shipped through UPS and although USP showed my package as Delivered I never got the package that had N95 Face Masks.
      I cannot contact Amazon or UPS to find out what happened to my package. Either the Driver for UPS is stealing packages from the addressee or leaving delivered packages left unattended for 3 days invites porch pirates to walk up to the door and walk away with our package(s).

      And EBAY also uses UPS to ship packages from sellers and the packages are being monitored by PayPal. This doesn’t stop the Driver employeed by UPS from stealing our packages. I have asked, without success, to have my packages shipped through USPS. The difference between UPS and USPS is USPS is an agency of the Federal Government and UPS is NOT an agency of the Federal Government.

      Think about That!

      6 |
    • Gh0st

      I don’t mean to plug another source but Tech Ingredients on YouTube put together a video on some disinfection methods. He mentions getting UV-c bulbs for existing fluorescent ballasts which from a quick search look really cheap, I can’t comment on their efficacy though. He also gets into building an ozone generator. https://youtu.be/2UdtKssU7po

      4 |
    • Josh CentersContributor

      Please note that I have updated this guide on 30 March 2020 to extend the quarantine time for packages from 72 hours to five days. The reason for this is that I just discovered a WebMD report that claims that coronavirus can survive on some surfaces for up to five days.

      6 |
    • trpph

      One thing I find missing here is that one the best and cheapest disinfectant for COVID-19 is actually plain old soap and water. I can’t remember at the moment where I found the articles but there are several out there on the internet by reputable virus scientists.  The thing about these coronaviruses is their protective shells are made of an oily substance which is highly vulnerable to plain old soap and water. Hense the main point of washing your hands during this COVID outbreak is the washing part. The rinsing part is somewhat redundant if you have washed properly with soap.  We use chemicals much of the time but we have become rather religious about wiping down many things around the house with soap and water. And often some of the packages we get as well. Not so special for cardboard but it works great on plastic that we feel we need to open without waiting. Vegetables from the grocer being one.

      An item I am uncertain about is the claim by WebMD of five days quarantine.  We have been using that as our standard, but I have as yet been unable to find verification or the source of their claim. So far it seems to be a random number.

       

      6 |
      • Josh CentersContributor trpph

        I considered discussing soap and water, but I’m unsure about the mechanics and effectiveness. Much of soap and water’s effectiveness is from the scrubbing action and I’m not sure how you’d go about scrubbing a cardboard box.

        4 |
      • trpph Josh Centers

        I copied the below from the Washington post. Check out the article.  They are not the only ones to say this. It is pretty much the consensus of the scientific community. Soap is as good as you can get;

         

        Soap — bar soap, liquid soap, laundry detergent and such — is virus kryptonite, which is why the message “Wash your hands!” is everywhere. But Menachery said heat and ultraviolet light are two other ways to neutralize a coronavirus, and each of these methods works in a different way.

        https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/health/coronavirus-sars-cov-2-structure/

        8 |