Guide to Antimicrobial Home Hardware and Housewares

What to Know About Antimicrobial Hardware and Housewares

Antimicrobial is a buzzword of the pandemic. Simply defined, an antimicrobial product, like a disinfectant spray, or a surface, like a doorknob, can either kill microorganisms or inhibit their spread. Microorganisms include mold, fungus, bacteria, and viruses like SARS-CoV-2 — the one that causes COVID-19.

During the pandemic, hardware and housewares manufacturers capitalized on consumer concerns by introducing a slew of products with antimicrobial properties. Some items, like real copper and bronze fixtures, are naturally antimicrobial, while others are treated with antimicrobial additives.

Antimicrobial products don’t take the place of proper personal hygiene and household cleaning practices — those are still essential. And antimicrobial surfaces can’t kill the coronavirus. But by creating a hostile environment where microorganisms disintegrate more rapidly, antimicrobials help protect your home and the people in it, That gives you another line of defense against COVID and other disease-causing organisms.

Here are some of our favorite antimicrobial hardware and housewares, with an explanation of how they inhibit the spread of microorganisms.