on Fri, Oct 19, 2001 at 03:13:02PM -0700, Karsten M. Self (kmself@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
on Fri, Oct 19, 2001 at 07:27:18AM -0500, Jim Choate (ravage@ssz.com) wrote:
On Fri, 19 Oct 2001, Karsten M. Self wrote:
This suggestion turned up on Kuro5hin, a web discussion site (Slashdot's baby brother):
If you want to sterilize your mail, simply place the unopened envelope on an ironing board and place a damp, thin cloth on top of it. Then iron it. Yes, iron it. Just like you would iron your pants. The damp heat will kill any bacteria, including anthrax, inside the envelope, and you will be safe.
http://www.kuro5hin.org/comments/2001/10/18/44222/299/16#16
Probably more accessible to most of the population (and workplaces) than claves, pressure cookers, or irradiation equipment.
Anyone have thoughts or (?) knowledge on efficacy, or guidelines on how long the heating should last for decontamination?
Sounds like somebody doesn't do their own washing/ironing :)
I bathe regularly. All else is gloss.
The steam in an iron doesn't get anywhere that hot, it'd ruin the clothes.
/me retreats to iron w/ thermometer.
Black and Decker "Light 'n' Easy" iron, cotton dishtowl (folded quarto), "Good Cook" dial thermometer inserted under top fold. With four minutes' preheat, temperature is off the scale (2200F), extrapolating, it looks to be 2700-2800F. After about two minutes, there's a slight yellowing of the dishtowel.
Above mistranslates ISO-8859-1 encoded \260 (octal), the degree sign, as
a zero.
Temperatures should read 220 F, 270 F, and 280 F, not thousands of
degrees.
--
Karsten M. Self