Door handle cover protects from contamination

[geert_2 410]

I designed a cover that separates care givers from contaminated door handles. The idea is that you carry this cover with you all the time, and slide it over a door handle to open the door without touching it. It protects you from contamination by dirty door handles, and vice-versa. You only touch the outside of this cover, and the door handles only touch the inside of this cover.

 

There do exist lots of other means, but this one provides the best separation, as far as I have seen. And it can stand up vertically (it has to be printed this way), and can be re-used as a little vase, when the crisis is over.

 

Obviously, every person should carry their own, and not share (that would defy the purpose). It can be desinfected and re-used.

 

It fits straight door handles up to 21mm diameter.

 

I designed it for use in our own labs and hospital, not only for the corona-stuff, but also for other chemical or biological contaminations during experiments or dissections. People tend to use gloves when doing experiments, and then they walk around opening doors with their dirty gloves, spreading more contamination than they would without gloves... This simple tool can help.

 

Would you be interested in this too? If yes, I could upload the design files and STL-files. But I might require you to think about a couple of questions, before you are allowed to use it.

 

(Click on the image to enlarge it.)

 

[gr5 1,402]

Love it!  I'm guessing a zip lock baggie in everyone's pocket would work also?

[geert_2 410]

1 hour ago, gr5 said:

Love it!  I'm guessing a zip lock baggie in everyone's pocket would work also?

 

Yes sure, anything according to that concept. As long as it separates your hands from the door handle, and it doesn't contaminate your pockets! This is why I wanted a cylindrical object, not an open flat one like most others, so the inside would not touch your pocket lining.

 

My first idea was using left-over pieces of copper tubing, rain/drain-pipe, aquarium-tubing,...

 

Copper tubing would have the advantage of being self-desinfecting: its oxide outer layer is poisonous and soon kills germs; it is sturdy, easy to machine, and can easily be further desinfected or autoclaved if required. Maybe copper-filled filament would also work, but then you lose the heat-resistance.

 

Cutting plastic PVC-table cloth, rolling it up in a cylinder, and glueing or sewing together (whatever works on that plastic), also crossed my mind. So, if you have little ziplock bags, or other sleeves, that should be fine, provided it is handy enough.

 

This below was the original idea, to be made from a piece of rain-pipe. And then it evolved into the "vase", since I don't have piping but I do have a 3D-printer: