The Illusion of Cleanliness

One of the most useless initiatives to spring from the SARS outbreak is still visible in Hong Kong five years on.

No, I'm not talking about people wearing surgical masks when they're sick; that's a reasonable way to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses in general.

I'm referring to the little signs taped in elevators all over the territory. Placed near the buttons, these placards inform passengers that the buttons are sanitised for better hygiene, usually every two or four hours, which means someone from building maintenance drops by with a spray bottle and rag for a quick wipe (if you believe the sign, that is; I have yet to witness the act).

I'm not against hygiene, but this idea is a waste of effort. Only self-cleaning buttons can guarantee that people won't transfer viruses and bacteria to one another, and the only way to do that would be to bathe them in perpetual UVC light, which destroys pathogens by breaking the outer membrane of microbes and modifying the DNA, which in turn causes the death of the microbe.

Since that solution would be expensive to install and maintain, it's not going to happen. And since people are forever touching dirty surfaces, shaking hands, coughing or sneezing into their own hands (or picking their noses); just-cleaned buttons won't stay clean for more than, oh, 30 seconds.

These little signs create the illusion of cleanliness, which is equivalent to the feeling of assurance I get when I read the safety card on an airplane.

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