Silver in Norwex Cloths

The History of Silver

Throughout history, people have taken advantage of the antimicrobial properties of Silver.

The Greeks and Romans stored water and other drinks in Silver, as it was believed this kept the liquids fresh.

During the plagues in Europe, wealthy families ate from Silver plates and utensils, in the hope that Silver would protect them from the disease that was claiming their neighbors lives.

The expression “born with a silver spoon in the mouth” had a dual meaning.

Not only did it refer to wealthy, it also referred to health. People were eating off Silver spoons because they knew that an infection couldn’t survive on Silver.

Without knowing it people were taking advantage of the natural Antimicrobial properties of Silver.

Today, many products are produced using Silver to give antibacterial properties to that surface. Silver antibacterial socks, silver soap, silver lined curtains in hospitals, silver lined bandages for treating burns, silver-lined Band-Aids, silver toothbrushes etc.

How Silver Works

Silver interrupts a cell’s ability to form chemical bonds essential to its survival. Although there are many complex ways Silver works, the simplest function is its ability to disable the enzyme that one-celled bacteria, viruses and fungi need for their oxygen metabolism.

The results of our testing show that the bacteria in the microfiber itself were reduced by more that 99.99% after 24 hours while a normal microfiber had a bacteria growth of 14,000.

The Antibacterial agent within the Norwex microfiber demonstrates its effectiveness against strains of pathogenic bacteria and yeast, for example:

• EColi
• Klebsialla pneumonia
• Proteus vulgaris
• Salmonella typhi
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Streptococcus faecalis
• Streptococcus pyogenes
• Candida albicans
• MRSA
• SARS

During testing, our agent was shown to begin breaking down bacteria immediately upon contact and to achieve a reduction better than 99% after 24 hours. Because the agent is part of the material the antibacterial effect lasts the lifetime of the product.

In this test we compared the bacterial growth of normal microfiber vs. Norwex Antibacterial Microfiber.

Cotton fibers could also have been used for this test, however as cotton does not pick up nearly so much dirt or germs from a surface we needed to have two cloths with the same amount of debris and germs in them to properly test the growth in the fibers over the 24 hours.

Due to the nature of these bacteria, all tests were conducted in a controlled laboratory environment, and may not be a 100% true representation of normal living environments. As such, its’ not known if the same results are true in an uncontrolled environment.

Why Do We Need Antibacterial Microfiber?

As microfiber removes so much solution, bacteria and grease from a surface, it is extremely important that your cloths don’t become a breeding ground for more bugs like your old smelly kitchen cloths.

To thermally clean and sanitize microfiber cloths, they need to be laundered above 77 degrees for more than 15 minutes. Norwex microfiber can be laundered up to 95 degrees Celsius. Inferior cloths cannot withstand this temperature, so they are never fully sanitized, meaning you can be spreading bacteria and germs next time you use them.

The new Norwex Antibacterial Microfiber does not disinfect the surface you clean by killing the germs on it; it removes the germs from the surface and collects them in the cloth. The silver agent inside the microfibers then inhibits the growth of the germs, which eventually causes them to suffocate and die.

The new microfiber should be regarded as a complement to regular practices, as it will also help prevent the transfer of germs to your hand while cleaning and help prevent cross-contamination. Germs removed are retained within the antibacterial microfiber and many common household germs will be killed within a few minutes.