Important Differences Between Clean, Disinfect and Sanitize

We are all hyper focused on cleaning everything around us or near us clean, disinfected and sanitized. So what's the difference between those things?

There is a difference between cleaned, sanitized and disinfected, and Reader's Digest has detailed those differences for us. So read the definitions carefully, according to the CDC so you know what he experts mean when they use these words...

Cleaning...removes germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces or objects.

Sanitizing...lowers the number of germs on surfaces or objects to a safe level, as judged by public health standards or requirements. This process works by either cleaning or disinfecting surfaces or objects to lower the risk of spreading infection.

Disinfecting...works by using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces or objects. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs on a surface after cleaning, it can further lower the risk of spreading infection.

So, if you want to kill germs, you want to disinfect. This is an important distinction to help you choose which products you should use for certain cleaning jobs. And the best way to disinfect a surface?

Here's what the CDC says...use household bleach solutions and let them sit on the surface for at least 10 seconds to assure the germs are killed.

So, there are some important tips and some distinctions you may not have been aware of or clear about. now you know.

Please be safe, be careful and be healthy...and help others do the same.