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A mouse got in my cabinet. I got rid of the poop. The CDC website recommends that I clean the affected surfaces with bleach solution or with an EPA-registered disinfectant, and links to a partial list of those disinfectants. However, I don't think it tells me which ones work for mice.

Can I use 70% alcohol solution for this instead of bleach solution? Are there any drawbacks or negative consequences to doing this?

Context: I'm in the US midwest, in an urban area but we get a lot of critters like raccoons and stuff coming around. I mention that in case it's relevant to the regional diseases.

I don't currently have any bleach in the house; I will get some tomorrow. I also have some surfaces that I would prefer not to bleach. I also have a bunch of 70% alcohol solution in the house now. I did a first round of cleaning with that already.

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    Does alcohol have the same bacterial killing properties? If not then you might find out.
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Jan 8 at 8:14
  • Please don't ask the same question twice. We'll get to you...
    – FreeMan
    Commented Jan 8 at 12:55
  • Sorry, I wasn't trying to ask the same question. Happy to keep this one deleted, I think it's different but won't fight you. Thanks for your help!
    – capet
    Commented Jan 8 at 16:14
  • @SolarMike Good question! That's kind of what I'm asking. It definitely does not have the same bacterial or virus-killing properties, but maybe it is similar when it comes to rodent-borne diseases? I'm not sure.
    – capet
    Commented Jan 8 at 16:15

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NIH https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7132458/ says that alcohol at 70% may not be strong enough for some virions.

If you don't want to bleach, use a disinfectant (which should be available where you buy cleaning products)

All these products are powerful biocides, that is they are generic poisons, they don't need to be tuned to specific targets.

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    "way not be" did you mean may? w and m are well separated...
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Jan 8 at 9:17
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    Note that you can easily get 90% denatured alcohol in most drugstores, and higher than that from painting/finishing suppliers. If you're concerned enough to use it, and aren't going to be soaking skin in it, that might be reassuring, though I don't know if it would actually be better for this application.
    – keshlam
    Commented Jan 9 at 19:05

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