Avoiding Illness with Vital Oxide

Published:

12/14/2018 

As we close out the year, we celebrate the holidays, look back at the year and prepare for all there is to new in 2019. However, lurking in the shadows this season is the constant threat of illness. December marks the start of the typical peak months for cold and flu season, and this year there are other threats, like food-borne pathogens and adenovirus, on people’s minds as well.


While the annual flu vaccine can help reduce the likelihood of contracting the flu, there are countless strains of the disease in circulation, and the vaccine has no impact on colds, bacteria or other viruses. That’s why it’s important to be proactive and CLEAN in other ways – for your health, for your employees’ health and for the health of anyone else impacted by your operations. One of the best tools in the anti-illness arsenal is Vital Oxide.

Avoiding Illness with Vital Oxide

why vital oxide?

At NorTex Sales & Service, we talk a lot about the benefits of Vital Oxide, but it’s with good reason. Vital Oxide is unlike many traditional cleaners that use harsh chemicals or solutions like chlorine bleach, ammonia or other solvents that can be harmful to use and pungent to the nose. These other solutions leave behind residues that may be unsafe for handling, use cancer-causing chemicals, or may trigger an allergic reaction. Vital Oxide, on the other hand, is odorless and nontoxic, and so harmless that there are no risks with it coming into contact with your skin. In fact, the active compound in Vital Oxide has been used as a water sanitizer for decades, and has a proven track record of being perfectly safe for use.


Beyond these benefits, Vital Oxide also is noncorrosive, meaning that it can be used on nearly any surface without any risk of staining or unwanted reaction. This includes metals, wood, concrete and even cloth and fabric. Plus, with misting or spraying, Vital Oxide penetrates into porous surfaces, rooting out environmental threats like mold spores or bacteria that can hide beneath the surface.

beneath the hood

Vital Oxide is efficient, effective and safe – everything we believe in as part of CLEAN – so it’s easy to see why we recommend it. But how it works is impressive in its own right.


At a molecular level, Vital Oxide’s active ingredient, chlorine dioxide – not to be confused with chlorine bleach – attacks germs chemically. With bacteria like E. coli or staphylococcus aureus (the bacteria that causes staph infections), Vital Oxide’s chlorine dioxide attaches to RNA and amino acids, destroying cell walls and the bacteria. For viruses – such as the adenovirus which has infected dozens and played a role in at least 12 deaths this year, according to NBC – the approach is similar. Vital Oxide oxidizes the amino acids to prevent the virus from reproducing. Whether bacteria or virus, the reaction between chlorine dioxide and germs results in a 5-log kill rate of these contaminants and leaves behind only simple table salt.

illness and your operations

Sicknesses are more than a pain for the person who has to deal with the sniffles, sneezes and shivers associated with colds and flus. They’re also a drain on your bottom line. As employees miss work to recover or work at less than full capacity while suffering symptoms of a cold, flu or other illness, your work can suffer – and other employees can be put at risk of infection.


According to the CDC Foundation, roughly 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu annually. That means if you have 10 employees, the odds are good at least one person is likely to get sick. Each year, this loss in labor across all employers is estimated to cost $16.3 billion in lost earnings – that’s Billion, with a B. All of this can be prevented with a flu shot and some attention to CLEAN using Vital Oxide.

safe: for food, for animals, for children

As we’ve covered, Vital Oxide is incredibly efficient and effective, but it’s also quite safe. It’s why Vital Oxide is a great option for sanitizing in a variety of different situations.


For business owners in food preparation or handling operations, Vital Oxide is wholly safe and commonly used to treat surfaces used in holding or processing different types of raw ingredients or staging finished food products. Vital Oxide is also ideal for use on the farm, where it not only is harmless to animals and feed, but can help reduce odors by attacking the bacteria that produces foul smells and eliminating the stench at the source.


Vital Oxide is also safe to use around children, the population that is perhaps most prone to colds and flus. It’s why it’s a common disinfectant choice for preschools, child care programs, elementary schools and other environments. It can be sprayed by teachers between classes, sanitizing desks, tables or even children’s backpacks, helping to reduce the spread of disease and keeping everyone healthier and happier all year long.

a vital tool for your operations

With the threat of flu, bacteria and viruses always an ever-present concern, it’s time to make sure you’re armed and ready to keep diseases at bay. NorTex Sales & Service offers Vital Oxide in a variety of ready-to-use options, and can help you with sprayer and fogger equipment to make application a breeze.


Add this vital tool to your cleaning and disinfection regimen. Call NorTex Sales & Service at (800) 280-5961 or stop by your local branch today to learn more.

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