As everyone works hard to keep their homes and workplaces sanitized and as safe as possible from potential COVID-19 contamination, scammers are busy working on ways to separate people from their money. Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller, is putting out a warning to residents about the scams and misleading claims circulating throughout the state. Some businesses are offering cleaning services, claiming their long-lasting COVID-19 protection can last up to 90 days in some cases. The reality is there is no product registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that meets that claim. The closest was approved by the agency in August for the state of Texas to allow American Airlines and an orthopedic business to utilize SurfaceWise2, a coating that inactivates the virus and bacteria within two hours of application and continues working for seven days. “We’re concerned that Iowans may think they’re purchasing cleaning services that will provide long-term protection from COVID,” Miller says. “They may be wasting their money and ultimately harming their health.” He is advising Iowans to ask businesses what disinfectants and other products they are using, then check whether or not those appear on the EPA’s List N of disinfectants that meet their criteria for use against the virus that causes COVID-19. The success of these products, that have not necessarily been tested against the coronavirus but have demonstrated efficacy against harder-to-kill viruses, comes from following all label directions.
