Five Parvo-Killing Products Without Bleach -

Canine Parvovirus is a highly-contagious virus that spreads from dog to dog through contact with their feces.

Mortality can reach as high as 91% in untreated cases, so it is very important to keep it away from your home.

If you suspect Parvo has entered your house, you need to get rid of it as soon as possible.

Today we are looking at five of the best products to kill this virus that doesn’t contain bleach.

Will Lysol Work?

Lysol is a common household disinfectant that the majority of us have in our homes right now.

While the website does claim that Lysol kills some viruses, Canine Parvovirus is not one of them.

The ingredients in this household cleaner will not kill the Parvovirus – you’ll need something stronger.

Bleach absolutely does kill Parvovirus, but we don’t want to be wiping bleach onto all of our furniture and belongings!

Bleach is highly toxic and should be treated with caution and care.

That is why we have strived to find products that will kill Canine Parvovirus that don’t involve bleach.

Substances That Kill Parvo Besides Bleach

There are a few alternatives to bleach that can kill Canine Parvovirus, such as:

Potassium Peroxymonosulfate
Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide
Chlorine Dioxide

All of these disinfectants are tried and true to be able to kill Canine Parvovirus – most of which can actually work better than bleach!

You can use these products on all sorts of materials and areas of your house as long as you use them as directed.

Each of the products we are recommending today will have at least one of these substances in it to act as the Parvo killer.

How To Kill Parvo In The Animal Industry

If you work in the animal industry, such as a dog groomer, kennel operator, or boarder, you will need to know how to properly disinfect your stations to protect yourself and your clients from Parvo.

Again, it’s understandable that you don’t want to use bleach on your expensive equipment, and the good news is that you don’t have to!

If this sounds like you, then the WYSIWASH Sanitizer-V is the product to try.

It can kill Parvo in a matter of minutes.
Vets around the world recommend this product.
You can spray it all around the area that you’re treating with the spray bottle included.
The price is low considering that this is a concentrated formula and will last you a very long time.
There is no rinsing required, unlike bleach.
It will also kill Distemper.

WYSIWASH is excellent for anyone working in the animal industry that needs to keep kennels, dog runs, turf, concrete, and other areas clean and disinfected on a regular basis.

How To Kill Parvo In Your Home

Rescue Disinfectant is excellent for killing Parvo and other diseases, but it is quite an investment when you don’t need to constantly disinfect your space with it.

Once you clear out your home of Canine Parvo, you shouldn’t have to treat your home again.

And no one wants a massive bottle of concentrated disinfectant gathering dust around their home!

These products that we’re about to look at all come in more modest sizing and are better suited to home use. Some can even be used directly on your dog!

	Sniper	Trifectant	Rescue	Virkon-S
Rated	Best Overall	Best Traveling	Quickest Killer	Best for Large Jobs
Cost per ounce (approx.)	$0.37 per ounce	$0.05 per ounce	$0.65 per ounce	$0.01 per ounce
Size	1 gallon	50 tablets (800 oz)	32 oz	10 pounds (20.000+ oz)
Form	Liquid	Tablets	Liquid	Powder
Mixing required?	No, ready to use	2 tablets per 32 oz water	Concentrated	1 part powder to 100 parts water
Uses	Clothing, yards, furniture, hard surfaces, air, dog fur, and paws, carpets	Hard surfaces	Hard surfaces	Yards, hard surfaces, air
Time needed to work	10 minutes	10 minutes	1 to 5 minutes	10 minutes
Standout features	Environmentally friendly, paw/fur-friendly, food-friendly	Easy to carry around with you	Kills Parvo quicker than other products	Bulk purchase
Drawback	Sometimes on back order	Corrosive and irritant until mixed	Can only be used on hard surfaces	Corrosive and irritant until mixed
Also kills…	MRSA, Staph, HIV 1, Legionnaires, Hepatitis B	E.Coli, Kennel Cough, Herpes, Salmonella, Ringworm, Pink Eye	FIPA, Distemper, E.Coli, Bordetella, Listeria	Salmonella, Canine Hepatitis, E.Coli, Foot and Mouth, Equine Herpes 1, 3

Bleach Alternatives That WILL Kill Parvovirus

There are many alternatives to bleach out there, but only some will kill Parvovirus.

What we’re going to look at now is the alternatives to bleach that thousands of vets and kennels use every day to keep their stations clean and safe for their clients.

And the good news is that you can also use these products in your home!

While bleach alternatives often cost more than bleach itself, it is not cost-prohibitive – especially when you consider that they can kill one of the most resilient viruses in the world. Not a lot of products can say the same!

Let’s take a look at the bleach alternatives that we looked at earlier in more depth, as well as how to use them correctly.

Potassium Peroxymonosulfate

This substance is found in these four recommended products:

These four products are also very popular in kennels and among vets, but they can also be used in your house, too.

The appeal of these products is that you get a lot of product for your money, so each use works out cheaper.

Large animal businesses or borders often have a high turnover and therefore need lots of product to keep them going between clients.

With Potassium Peroxymonosulfate being so inexpensive, it is perfect for people who want to buy in bulk.

Tablets can also travel well so you can take them to shows and on vacation.

If you have lots of equipment to hose off or go traveling a lot where you want to do some disinfecting to keep your dog safe, these options are excellent choices.

They are very effective, but we warned that the chlorine smell is rather overpowering for a while.

Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide

This substance is found in these two recommended products:

Rescue offers a formula that can kill Parvo in just one minute, and this comes in a squeeze bottle.

The gallon bottle of Rescue needs to be diluted before use and then requires five minutes of contact time before the Parvo is properly killed.

You’ll often see vets using Rescue, and it is one of their most recommended products for killing viruses like Parvo.

This is because their products can kill viruses in the quickest time possible. Why wait longer when you can use a faster-acting product?

Vets will use Rescue so that they can wipe down their surfaces and effectively kill anything that their previous clients brought in before they see their next one.

It smells clean, too. It’s the smell that lets you know that the room has been cleaned without burning your nose.

Rescue is an excellent Parvo killer to use when you’re short on time.

Spray anywhere and wait for one minute before allowing your dog to jump on anything.

If your dog is particularly impatient, then you’ll love the quickness of Rescue! Plus, you have peace of mind that viruses and pathogens are killed.

Chlorine Dioxide

This substance is found in these two recommended products:

Of all of the household sprays we’ve looked at, Sniper is the most environmentally friendly option.

You can even use this spray on your dog’s anus and dip its paws into it!

This is particularly helpful since these are the two common areas of their body that are involved in the passing and transmitting of the Parvovirus.

Sniper is also effective in use on clothing, furniture, carpets, and more.

This disinfectant is mild and therefore can be sprayed directly onto dogs and cats for killing multiple viruses as well as Parvo, like RingWorm. It is even used to de skunk pets, too!

Many hospitals use Sniper to disinfect numerous pathogens and viruses. Sniper offers two sizes – a gallon bottle and a 16 oz bottle for smaller jobs.

Why Use Bleach Alternatives Instead Of Bleach?

There are many advantages to using bleach alternatives instead of the real thing.

For one, bleach can be very corrosive to surfaces such as metals, whereas alternatives are not so damaging.

Bleach can also be breathed in when used and damage your respiratory system.

Now, this doesn’t mean that bleach alternatives won’t cause irritation at all, so still use them with caution.

However, as a general rule, bleach alternatives are much less damaging than bleach.

Bleach is also very fickle, and you need to use it quickly.

Once you have mixed bleach, you’ll have to use it all quickly before it loses its effectiveness.

You certainly cannot use it the next day and assume that it will have the same results.

On the other hand, bleach alternatives often come with a 5-10 day shelf life once mixed, making them much more valuable and cost effective.

Some even come ready to use which can last for years in their bottles.

Should You Forget About Bleach Completely For Parvo?

While bleach is corrosive and damaging to lots of surfaces, the fact remains that it is still a great killer of Parvo.

If you don’t want to get a bleach alternative, or have an emergency where you cannot wait to get an alternative, bleach can be used.

Bleach can be used on non-porous surfaces like sinks, countertops, dishes, and more.

Mix one part bleach to 30 parts water and use this to effectively kill Parvovirus.

However, there is a reason why everyone is so concerned with bleach.

It is known for taking color away from things, weakening the structures, and can be dangerous to your health.

Bleach sometimes also becomes deactivated when it meets organic material.

So, you cannot use bleach to kill Parvo around organic material, and the worry of fumes might be too much to handle.

We think that this gives bleach alternatives a much sharper edge, provided that they can actually kill Parvo.

Why Is Parvo Almost Unkillable?

Parvo spreads like wildfire. On average, an un-immunized dog can contract Parvo when it comes into contact with just 1,000 viral particles.

An infected dog will shed between 20 and 40 million viral particles per ounce of their feces.

That’s a lot of viral particles that you have to get rid of! This is just one of the reasons why it is so difficult to kill Parvo.

Parvovirus is not picky when it comes to where it’s going to inhabit.

It will live on grass, fluffy toys and slippers, leather jackets, wooden posts, mixed into snow – anywhere.

This makes it very difficult to isolate.

If you have Parvo in your house, then it will be everywhere.

This means that you have to disinfect every inch of your house to ensure that you actually get rid of the virus.

Even if you miss a single viral particle, it will begin spreading again and you’ll be back to square one.

The final reason why Parvo is so difficult to kill is because it can live for months on a single object.

Some particles even last for years! This is why you cannot just clean everything once and hope that the virus never comes back.

You need to be vigilant with your cleaning routine, with one floor-to-ceiling disinfection then daily follow-ups of a great cleaning routine. This should be spread over a few weeks.

Now do you understand why Parvo is so impossible to get rid of?

Preparing To Get Parvovirus Out Of Your Home

Getting rid of Parvo in the home is tricky business. But there are a series of steps that you can take to make the process easier and hopefully remove the virus from your home.

Throw Out Anything You Can

We know that the last thing you want to do is throw out anything that you think has been infected with the virus.

However, the truth is that this virus is on everything, and the less stuff you have for it to cling onto and survive, the better.

So, throw everything that you can in a double layer of trash bags and throw it away.

If you’re transporting anything around your home that might be carrying the virus, you’re just spreading the particles more.

We know it’s a pain to throw things away, but ask yourself whether it’s really worth it to keep hold of some old linens and toys.

Once you decide what’s going and what’s staying, roll the items for the trash up and dispose of them in one garbage bag.

Then put this bag inside another garbage bag to double layer it. This will help to prevent the virus making its way out of both layers.

Wear disposable gloves as you do this and keep changing them as you move around your house, throwing more things out.

Top Tip!

Once you have bagged everything up, throw it outside for the garbage men to collect.

However, in the interest of protecting others around you, spray lots of 30:1 bleach solution into the bag before tying it together.

This should help to prevent other dogs and humans from contracting Parvo through your rubbish.

You can also launder everything before throwing it out if you don’t want to use bleach.

Disinfect Your Laundry

Now that you can begin disinfecting, we recommend starting in the laundry room.

There is no use pulling clean and disinfected things out of the washing machine just to have them be immediately reinfected with Parvo from the room!

Launder all clothes, bedding, towels, and anything else in hot water.

Use a good detergent that will actually kill the virus, and add bleach to whites.

If your washer comes with a pre-soak option, this is the best way to go.

Launder everything in small loads to ensure that no viral particles are left behind, and use a hot clothes dryer to dry everything instead of hanging it up.

Disinfect the laundry room, then keep all freshly laundered items in this room until the rest of the house is done.

Ideally, you won’t go back in here until everything is disinfected and safe.

Time To Use Your Parvo Killer

Now is the time when you have to choose your poison – or rather, Parvo’s poison. Here is a recap of your choices:

Bleach that is certified to kill Parvovirus, like Clorox
Potassium Peroxymonosulfate like Virkon or Trifectant
Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide like Rescue or Accel
Chlorine Dioxide like Sniper

How To Use Bleach To Kill Parvovirus

Bleach is super effective at killing Parvo, so wherever you can use it, go ahead.

Clorox is one of the most well-known brands of bleach and is very effective at killing the virus, so it’s a great option if you’re willing to risk it.

The Clorox website even tells you how to get rid of Parvovirus using its products. This has been taken from the Clorox website:

“Use ¾ cups of brand new Regular Clorox (not a bottle that has been sitting around) mixed with 1 gallon of water.

Prewash the surface and then clean the surface using the Clorox solution. Leave to sit for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and air dry.”

While Clorox is a high-quality type of bleach to use, the name of the brand you use isn’t important.

Just make sure that your chosen bleach has a definitive percentage of sodium hypochlorite concentration.

You’ll need to know this number to make sure you’re creating the correct concentration when diluting with water.

Always make sure that you are using a bleach labeled for killing Parvovirus. The back of the label should tell you if this is the case or not.

When using bleach to treat Parvovirus-infected areas, you’ll still want to use a respirator.

Even though you’re diluting the bleach solution with water, you’ll still feel it in your nose and throat if you’re not careful.

Always err on the side of caution and use the proper safety equipment.

Other important safety equipment includes rubber gloves and clothes that you don’t mind being thrown out afterward.

Make sure that your bleach remains on the surface for at least 10 minutes to kill the viral particles.

You will then need to rinse this away, so make sure that you don’t use it anywhere that will be difficult to rinse!

Bleach does not kill Parvovirus on lawns or other porous surfaces, and it won’t be effective near other organic matter.

This is where the bleach alternatives come in.

How To Use Potassium Peroxymonosulfate To Kill Parvovirus

Potassium Peroxymonosulfate is otherwise known as an oxidizing agent that comes in either a powder or tablet form.

You’ll need to prepare the substance in advance, but then it can be kept for up to seven days after being mixed together.

This means that you can use one batch throughout the week to help kill 100% of the parvovirus particles.

Potassium Peroxymonosulfate also retains more of its effectiveness for longer than bleach.

This makes it one of the best options to use on organic matter like lawns and earth.

This substance in a concentrated form can cause irritation to the body such as burning of the eyes and skin, so be careful when handling it.

However, once mixed properly this bleach alternative shouldn’t have any irritating effects on the skin.

Still, practice caution and wear eye and hand protection.

How To Use Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide To Kill Parvovirus

Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide is not the same as the hydrogen peroxide that you buy from the drugstore, so put this away if you thought that it would do the same thing!

Instead, Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide is a patented blend of safe ingredients with a low level of hydrogen peroxide.

This combination allows the bleach alternative to kill germs and viruses that the ingredients would not be able to kill on their own.

They work together to become a great Parvo killer.

Some Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxides come ready to use, while others you need to mix and dilute. Mix them only as the instructions say.

Thanks to the hydrogen peroxide percentage being rather low, Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide is considered to be much safer to use than bleach.

Still, make sure that you conduct a spot test before covering all of your furniture in Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide.

This mixture of ingredients will react with various fabrics and dyes differently, so it’s always safer to test it on an inconspicuous spot first.

How To Use Chlorine Dioxide To Kill Parvovirus

Chlorine Dioxide is the safest bleach alternative to use around the house, and it is certainly safer than bleach itself.

It is completely safe to use around humans, dogs, cats, and even birds.

Sniper contains Chlorine Dioxide, and this is the best product if you want to treat everything instead of throwing it out.

Sniper can be used on clothing, carpets, blankets, and furniture without causing staining.

Sniper comes ready to use, although you can dilute it without removing any of its effectiveness.

This disinfectant actually comes with information on how to get rid of Parvo in your home, like spraying it directly onto your dog when feces stick to fur.

Many owners actually use Sniper on their cats and dogs to treat things like Ring Worm, as well as deodorizing anal glands to de-skunk pets.

Can You Kill Parvovirus With Extreme Temperatures?

Heat has not been proven effective at killing Parvovirus, so we wouldn’t recommend using it as a treatment.

Wash all of your dishes with bleach solution and rinse them thoroughly.

You should also put them through this dishwasher after bleach, if you have one.

Repeat this process daily, then weekly.

Similarly, a washing machine does not reach high enough temperatures to kill Parvo on its own.

You need to add bleach to the cycle to do this. A bleach alternative can be added to colors and dark washes as they won’t remove any of the color like bleach would.

So, high heat doesn’t work – but what about freezing?

Unfortunately, freezing won’t work either. Parvo is more than capable of surviving a brutal winter, and it will often hide beneath snow until it thaws.

In fact, springtime brings plenty of Parvovirus breakouts since it sees the combination of warmer temperatures and melting snow, where the snow was on top of Parvo-infected feces.

Top Tips For Cleaning After You’ve Got Rid Of Parvo

Don’t use mops, as these can harbor plenty of particles. The best way to clean the floor is with a spray bottle and an old rag for wiping. This rag should then be disposed of.

Use a clothes dryer instead of hanging laundry on a line, especially when dealing with contaminated linens.

Don’t overload your washing machine as this might prevent the bleach alternative from reaching all of the viral particles on your clothes.

Be mindful that concentrated formulas are more likely to be an irritant, so be careful when handling substances before mixing.