DOOR OPENER

iSOUL Contactless Door Opener Tool, €8.66, amazon.co.uk

CLAIM: This small metal hook can be used to avoid direct contact with door handles, drawers, bags and touchscreen devices, says the maker. It also claims the zinc in the hook ‘slows or kills the spread of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, protozoans and fungi’.

EXPERT VERDICT: This works by allowing you to avoid touching surfaces, rather than by the claim it makes to being antimicrobial itself.

It might be handy if you have been shielding and want to avoid touching potentially contaminated surfaces, but, day-to-day, this will not be useful for the average person and should not replace hand washing, which would be much more effective at removing any bacteria you have picked up from door handles.

As a rule, I try not to use door handles at all, and you really don’t gain much by having a special tool to touch them with instead.

3/10