Cleaning surfaces is a common part of any effective cleaning routine, but do you know if your cleaning products are protecting you from common bacteria and viruses? What many don't realise is that there is a difference when it comes to cleaning and disinfecting. They are not the same thing
Cleaning removes any dirt and impurities from the surfaces you are cleaning. Cleaning products usually include soap. While this removes germs, such as bacteria and viruses, it doesn't kill the germs. Removing them from the surfaces does reduce the risk of them spreading throughout your office or home.
Sanitising or disinfecting is killing the germs on the surfaces. When you kill the germs after cleaning, it further reduces the risk of these germs spreading, causing illness. Disinfectants are not effective are removing grime, dirt, or tough stains. They are effective at killing germs. Therefore you need to clean and disinfect to ensure clean surfaces at all times.
You will see professional commercial cleaners will do both cleaning and disinfecting, though in the home, you do not have to do both together. Keeping your surfaces clean and hygienic is important to reduce the risk of spreading germs. As a result, it is recommended that you clean and then disinfect your surfaces on a regular basis. The best method is to clean the surfaces using your chosen cleaning products to remove the top layer of dirt. After this, disinfect the surfaces to kill any bacteria and viruses. When you clean first, the disinfectants are more powerful.
It is also important to ensure you disinfect areas that are considered high traffic areas, where you have a lot of visitors or where staff congregate. When cleaning and disinfecting focus on areas such as light switches, kitchen counters, coffee tables, door handles, telephones, keyboards, and computer mice.
It's important to identify the high traffic areas in your home or office space, these are the areas that are likely to have a higher level of germs. These tend to be areas such as reception areas in offices, communal kitchens, and bathrooms.
Whether you are cleaning your home or office, the kitchen should be cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis. In the kitchen, focus on cleaning and disinfecting the following:
When it comes to cleaning the bathroom, you are going to want to focus on cleaning and disinfecting the following:
The reception area and workstations in your office are the most used areas, therefore you want to focus on cleaning and disinfecting the following:
Most of your regular cleaning products are only good for cleaning dirt, stubborn stains, and grime from your surfaces, they are not good at killing unwanted bacteria and viruses. It is important to ensure after cleaning all surfaces, you follow by disinfecting. This ensures that all surfaces are both clean and hygienic, reducing the risk of spreading germs, thereby reducing staff sick days.