What are Disinfectants?
Disinfectants are basically chemical agents applied to non-living objects in order to destroy bacteria, viruses, fungi, mold or other living organisms on the objects. As per the definition, a disinfectant formula must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The active ingredient in every disinfectant formula is factor that kills pathogens, usually by disrupting or damaging their cells. Active ingredients are usually aided by other ingredients with varied purposes. For example, surfactants can be added to a disinfectant formula to provide consistent wetting on a surface or to help in cleaning.
How to use common disinfecting products
When disinfecting a surface, the most important concern is what the dwelling time is: the amount of time the disinfectant requires killing the pathogens on the surface. No disinfectant works instantly; most of them sold to the public take several minutes. Different dwell times do not indicate that one disinfectant is more or less effective than the other. They’re just how long a product takes to destroy the virus. But the dwell time is not the only thing you should pay attention to.
Be careful
Bleach mixtures can be used only on hard surfaces and they can permanently damage most fabrics and many other soft materials and are quite unpleasant to work with. One must always wear gloves while using them. There should be proper ventilation available in the space. “Bleach is corrosive, even the vapors,” Warner said. “Gives you a sore throat, you don’t taste dinner, and you wake up the next day with a weird taste in your mouth.”
You also need to wipe it off after the 10-minutes of usage time, because if its left on the space indefinitely, bleach can damage even resilient materials like stainless steel. It can cause some plastic containers to break down over a period of time.
The difference between Disinfection, Sanitation, and Sterilization:
Disinfection
It uses antimicrobial agents on non-living things or surfaces to destroy or inactivate micro organisms. Disinfectants might not kill all kinds of bacteria, viruses, fungi and spores. But most disinfectants are weakened or are inactivated by organic matter such as dirt and feces.
Example of disinfecting
It removes heavy debris by dry sweeping or use of high volume pressure washing. If it is used as an application of sanitizing solution then let it get dry.
Sanitation
It uses an antimicrobial agent on objects, surfaces or living tissue to reduce the number of disease-causing organisms to non-threatening levels. Sanitizing does not affect only some spores or viruses.
Example of sanitation
It helps in removing heavy debris by scrubbing, sweeping, or mopping or pressure washing. Applying the detergent, rinsing, applying sanitizer (Chlorine or any other type), rinsing it with high volume hose or pressure washing.
Sterilization
Sterilization is using chemicals, temperature, gas and/or pressure to kill or inactivate all disease-causing bacteria, spores, fungi and viruses.
Examples of sterilization
Remove heavy debris by sweeping or high volume hose or pressure washing. Rinse with water and detergent. Incinerate debris and apply either ethylene oxide, hydrogen peroxide, or similar product. Alternative method is to clean surfaces using steam.
How does spray disinfectant makes more sense
The spray disinfectants are highly effective and help kill viruses, germs and pathogens present on the surfaces and in the air by 90%. It eliminates the spread of virus on the hard surfaces in two minutes while it will sanitize other soft surfaces. Thereby, killing most viruses including corona virus. Though, it is not guaranteed that it will damage all of them. It is reasonably less harsh on skin when compared to bleach based products.
Disinfectants are different from sanitizers, which “are not designed to kill all disease-causing microorganisms,” Warner explained. “They’re designed to kill most, down to a level that’s considered safe,” and “come into play on surfaces that can’t be disinfected—porous surfaces, like your skin, fabric, and carpet.” Other terms you may have seen on household cleaners and soaps include anti bacterial or anti microbial chemicals. “That doesn’t mean that they’re sanitizing or disinfecting,” Warner said. “We see those claims on household cleaners and hand soaps. It’s a bit of marketing, really.”
All the disinfectants have a different dwell time. Which means that you need to wipe down the surfaces and let the disinfectant be there for atleast five to ten minutes subsequently. To have a thorough clean up it is required to clean he surfaces first with soap and then with water or with a general cleaner that you use at your household and then wiping off the disinfectant after the usage time is up so that there is no sticky residue because the residue can become a place for the virus to settle again.
During this entire procedure, it is very essential to wear the kitchen gloves and take necessary precautions and ensure there is proper ventilation.
