Prairie Du Sac Company Sees Disinfectant Sales Spike
Company Says Whizzer Kills MRSA
Updated: 4:06 pm CDT October 25, 2007
PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis. -- A Prairie du Sac company said that production there has increased dramatically since news about a deadly staph infection has made national headlines.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportMueller Sports Medicine makes a range of products, but the owner said that one of its very first products, which kills methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, has been getting lots of attention recently.The company makes products like glare reflectors worn by football players and braces and support of athletes. Lately, it has been busy producing a disinfectant called Whizzer, which the company said kills MRSA."With this most recent outbreak throughout the United States, our production level is probably gone up 10 to 20 times what it would normally be," said Curt Mueller, owner of Mueller Sports Medicine.Mueller said he created the disinfectant in the basement of his father's Prairie du Sac pharmacy in 1965."Officially it is made for wrestling and made for cleaning wrestling mats and things like that. So they wanted to name it after a wrestling term," said Gina Accola, quality systems director at Mueller Sports Medicine.First used to disinfect wrestling mats and locker rooms, the company said testing shows that Whizzer kills things like HIV and MRSA."You're not allowed to put it on your label unless you can prove it does just that, especially if you're going to list specific organisms and viruses," Accola said.The company said that demand for Whizzer increased about a year ago but that it spiked dramatically in the last two weeks because of concern over MRSA."I think it's very surprising, even for the people here in Prairie du Sac," Accola said."We're going to go coast to coast, and we think we can help what's out there," Mueller said.When he got started, Mueller said he actually sold Whizzer out of the back of his VW. Now with the Whizzer and hundreds of other products, he heads a multimillion dollar company.The company employs about 140 people, and some of them have been with Mueller for a long time, even during tough times when Mueller couldn't make payroll, WISC-TV reported.Now, the company has offices across the country, and in Tokyo, the United Kingdom and Germany.Dr. Dennis Maki, of University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, said that a lot of products can do what Whizzer does. He said those looking for a cheaper alternative can mix household bleach with water.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportMueller Sports Medicine makes a range of products, but the owner said that one of its very first products, which kills methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, has been getting lots of attention recently.The company makes products like glare reflectors worn by football players and braces and support of athletes. Lately, it has been busy producing a disinfectant called Whizzer, which the company said kills MRSA."With this most recent outbreak throughout the United States, our production level is probably gone up 10 to 20 times what it would normally be," said Curt Mueller, owner of Mueller Sports Medicine.Mueller said he created the disinfectant in the basement of his father's Prairie du Sac pharmacy in 1965."Officially it is made for wrestling and made for cleaning wrestling mats and things like that. So they wanted to name it after a wrestling term," said Gina Accola, quality systems director at Mueller Sports Medicine.First used to disinfect wrestling mats and locker rooms, the company said testing shows that Whizzer kills things like HIV and MRSA."You're not allowed to put it on your label unless you can prove it does just that, especially if you're going to list specific organisms and viruses," Accola said.The company said that demand for Whizzer increased about a year ago but that it spiked dramatically in the last two weeks because of concern over MRSA."I think it's very surprising, even for the people here in Prairie du Sac," Accola said."We're going to go coast to coast, and we think we can help what's out there," Mueller said.When he got started, Mueller said he actually sold Whizzer out of the back of his VW. Now with the Whizzer and hundreds of other products, he heads a multimillion dollar company.The company employs about 140 people, and some of them have been with Mueller for a long time, even during tough times when Mueller couldn't make payroll, WISC-TV reported.Now, the company has offices across the country, and in Tokyo, the United Kingdom and Germany.Dr. Dennis Maki, of University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, said that a lot of products can do what Whizzer does. He said those looking for a cheaper alternative can mix household bleach with water.Copyright 2007 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
