Are You Covering The Disinfecting Basics During COVID-19?

Proper disinfection should be matched with the right protocols and the correct disinfecting chemicals.

Covid-19 pandemic has heightened everyone’s need for better cleaning strategies across all industries this year. Whether you are new to cleaning in your facility or are an experienced cleaner, the pressure to get it right during COVID-19 is more important than ever.

Cleaning, Sanitizing, Disinfecting, Sterilizing, What else?

It’s not uncommon to hear in the cleaning world phrases like cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting and sterilizing. While these terms are related, they should not be used interchangeably. There are some significant differences in each process that you should pay attention to for your business.

Each process requires tools and cleaning chemicals to achieve different results depending on the level of cleaning you want in your business. Understanding the basics of each will help you make the best decision for your facility and achieve the health and safety goals during this pandemic.

What Is Cleaning?

Cleaning, first doesn’t claim to kill germs on a surface. Cleaning revolves around the aesthetics of your business. You can it to look clean and free from dirt, dust, grease and grime. Cleaning primes the surface for disinfecting.

What Is Sanitizing?

Sanitizing is the next step after cleaning. It typically kills 99.9% of bacteria on a surface. Sanitizers that are commonly used don’t kill viruses like the Coronavirus. Unlike disinfectants, some sanitizers can be used to remove germs on porous surfaces like bedding, cushions, carpet, and upholstery.

What Is Disinfecting?

After sanitizing, disinfecting is the next step in killing viruses and bacteria. Disinfecting chemicals have a 6-log kill rate that reduces pathogens by 99.9999%. This further mitigates people’s exposure to harmful viruses and bacteria like Coronavirus. When compared to cleaning and sanitizing, disinfecting is the choice that most cleaning companies use when cleaning facilities.

What Is Sterilizing?

Sterilizing removes and eradicates 100% of all microbes from a surfaces. This process kills everything on the surface. The sterilizing process is typically used on health care equipment that may enter the human body and on non-porous surfaces, such as operating tables that need to be completely free from all pathogens.

What Is Your Process?

It is more important than ever to make sure your cleaning process is removing those harmful pathogens when cleaning your medical office, business office or manufacturing facility. The Coronavirus can live on surfaces for a couple days and if you are not disinfecting those surfaces you could put you and your employees at risk.