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Thread: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

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    Default Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    How can I safe my penpals' letters so they don't accidentally hand me the dreaded virus? The "official" line is that the virus can survive for perhaps three days on "surfaces". The "Perhaps" has me doubtful. I thought of wearing gloves to open the letters, discarding the envelopes (who knows where they have been?), and then ironing the letter sheets with the iron on the "linen" setting. Has anybody tried heat to see if any inks survive?
    "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-

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    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    I'm currently washing my hands after I pick up the mail from the doormat, then after I have opened the letters and read them, I wash my hands again. I'm probably washing my hands about 40 times per day
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    I know it is a frivolous topic, but that is my job.
    "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-

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    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Microwave

    (Mind you, that's just a thought that popped into layman's head without the benefit of research!)

    Edited to add: Remove any sealing wax, first. Gold coins, too!

    Edited again: The US Postal Service, the US Secret Service and US Congressional mail office has been dealing with this issue since the anthrax nastiness, so the answer is already out there, though some bureaucrat may have classified it.
    Last edited by FredRydr; March 13th, 2020 at 10:54 AM.

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    How about popping them in a deep freeze for a few days?

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    OMG FLU kills tens of thousands every year but you don't panic in case someone has had the FLU and written a letter !!!

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Quote Originally Posted by Jaguarish View Post
    How about popping them in a deep freeze for a few days?
    Thats handy as FREEZING is how scientists PRESERVE viruses, great advice not

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    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Quote Originally Posted by jrthemoon View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Jaguarish View Post
    How about popping them in a deep freeze for a few days?
    Thats handy as FREEZING is how scientists PRESERVE viruses, great advice not
    Quote Originally Posted by jrthemoon View Post
    OMG FLU kills tens of thousands every year but you don't panic in case someone has had the FLU and written a letter !!!
    Please play nicely.
    Last edited by Chrissy; March 14th, 2020 at 05:31 AM.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Much false information regarding bacterial and viral transmission. Being around coughing and sneezing persons is obvious. Our own natural defense mechanisms are working to prevent inoculations.

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Sorry I MUST remember to add this to comments

    How do I add a signature here, being Autistic I like people to know in case I inadvertently cause offence thanks

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    Senior Member Fermata's Avatar
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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Quote Originally Posted by jrthemoon View Post
    Sorry I MUST remember to add this to comments

    How do I add a signature here, being Autistic I like people to know in case I inadvertently cause offence thanks
    Click on settings in the top right, you will then see My Settings down the left hand side. After that there is Edit My Signature.

    You can then create your signature.

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    You are a genius, many thanks, done, appreciated
    I am Autistic, Aspergers, so I apologize if I occasionally post without thinking (as in speak without .....) no rudeness is ever intended Thanks

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    This reminds me of my grandmother who used to give her grandchildren money for their birthdays. She washed the bills in soap and water and then dried them with a hot iron. They turned out crisp like new.
    "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Quote Originally Posted by Paddler View Post
    This reminds me of my grandmother who used to give her grandchildren money for their birthdays. She washed the bills in soap and water and then dried them with a hot iron. They turned out crisp like new.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Put the letter in quarantine somewhere for a couple weeks. I've seen estimates of the virus living on surfaces up to 9 days. And wash hands after handling.

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Not wishing to be funny but I wrote this a week back

    And Covid 19 bothers you.................. really

    Have YOU washed YOUR hands today ?

    Here is a thought, we as humans are a dirty race, I am not alone knowing that people use toilets even in shops and do not wash their hands, we have all see men/women use the toilet then leave and YOU then have to use the same door handle AFTER they have touched their parts of the body in the toilet................................

    Now, consider this the next time you think of illness, perhaps coronavirus, well.... I have thought about it for 20 years.

    WHY do supermarkets sell unwrapped bread, cakes, buns, biscuits etc at FACE height and lower ?????

    I have SEEN people pick a loaf up and put it back, did YOU later buy it, not me. I only buy wrapped.

    Ok, when you next go shopping, locally, or anywhere and buy that loaf or cake, consider who was the last person over the WHOLE DAY to go to the toilet and leave without washing, cough, sneeze, breath over it before you buy it

    It amazes me they wrap bananas, swede, potatoes and yet you buy coughed over bread

    Why not tell the shops. I do. But then I never wanted my sons to eat anything that has been touched by the part of the body of another person or come from their mouth, sorry.

    Oh and as an addition, has the person writing to you washed their hands

    Have a nice tea
    Last edited by jrthemoon; March 14th, 2020 at 09:58 AM.
    I am Autistic, Aspergers, so I apologize if I occasionally post without thinking (as in speak without .....) no rudeness is ever intended Thanks

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    This hand-washing remedy put forth by the authorities can be categorized as Lies to Children because they don't give you the whole story. You can wash your hands with soap and water until they are raw and still be able to culture bacteria from them. I am guessing that virus particles are similar in this regard. I think the important part is not to touch your face.
    "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-

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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Quote Originally Posted by Paddler View Post
    This hand-washing remedy put forth by the authorities can be categorized as Lies to Children because they don't give you the whole story. You can wash your hands with soap and water until they are raw and still be able to culture bacteria from them. I am guessing that virus particles are similar in this regard. I think the important part is not to touch your face.
    To not touch your face without having washed your hands is the important part.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Viruses don't culture. Soap and water are effective in removing viruses from your hands, provided you wash thoroughly and properly, and may also break down the lipid shell as well as dislodging the virus because of the way soap works at a molecular level.

    https://www.vox.com/science-and-heal...d-soap-is-dope

    It is also important to break yourself of the habit of touching your face, particularly the T Zone, eyes, nose, mouth, where viruses find entry points. It is a hard habit to break but it is doable.

    As with anything, neither is a silver bullet. The idea is to take a number of precautions, each reducing the risk more than doing any one of them. So disinfecting surfaces comes into play as well.

    Of course CoV-SARS-2 is transmitted primarily through droplets (from coughs, for example) and there are various things that can be done to help reduce that infection vector.

    I've been following this epidemic since late January when news articles were first surfacing and have read a number of clinical case studies and other research papers.

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    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
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    Default Re: Penpal Letters: Makin' 'em Safe

    Quote Originally Posted by Paddler View Post
    I am guessing that virus particles are similar in this regard.
    I know it is just a phrase, but there couldn't be a worse time to rely on guessing about things. Knowledge is not just power, but potentially life-saving.
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

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