When the cold season sets in, chances of contracting cold and flu increase. Being an infectious disease, there is no amount of cleaning and protection can guarantee that you are 100% safe from cold and flu. However, it is essential to get informed about what works and doesn’t work to ensure everything you do is realistic and effective in fighting cold and flu. The following are five cleaning facts that you should be aware of in regards to home cleaning during the cold and flu season.
- Sanitizing and Disinfecting are Different
Most people will refer to sanitizing and disinfecting as the same thing. However, there is a massive difference between the two. Sanitizing eliminates 99.9% of bacteria only while disinfecting will kill practically all viruses, bacteria, and fungi on the area being disinfected. It may seem like a negligible difference, but when sanitization is done properly, it will reduce 1,000-fold in the exposure of germs while disinfecting will give 100,000-fold protection against germs. - Disinfecting isn’t Necessary Unless in Extreme Situations
While disinfecting may seem like the best approach to germs on the surfaces, it is not necessary unless there are people who are actively sick, their immune is compromised, or are high-risk such as the elderly or infants. Doing the hospital-level disinfecting in your home will properly overkill germs. For typical home cleaning and hygiene, sanitizing is enough. Regular sanitizing and hand-washing, eating healthy, getting enough rest, and following other routine health exercises will be enough to fight germs. You can disinfect the areas that are highly touched by many people, such as the doorknobs, toilet flushers, light switches, and drawer handles, among others. - Sanitizers and Disinfectants Don’t Eliminate 100% Infectious Germs
Sanitizing and disinfecting doesn’t guarantee that all germs on a surface are killed. By claiming a cleaning solution eliminates 99.9% of germs, the manufacturer needs to prove the solution can get rid of disease-causing organisms on a flat, clean, and non-porous surface. You will need to read the fine print of the solution to know what it can eliminate and what it can’t. - Disinfectants Lose their Effectiveness When Applied on Extremely Dirty Surfaces
While cleaning solutions claim to fight up to 99.999% of germs on a surface, it can only do so if applied on a clean surface. The grime and dirt on a filthy surface may provide cover to germs on a surface, and when a disinfectant is applied, it won’t be effective in eliminating them. Furthermore, even if you eliminate germs on a grimy surface, there are high chances they will re-develop again. You should always clean dirt and grime on a surface before using disinfectant to make it effective. - You Should Follow Manufacturer’s Instruction to Make Disinfectants Effective
If you want a disinfectant to be effective, you should use it as directed by the manufacturer. Always read the fine details before using it. For instance, you may have to do multiple wipes on a surface to get rid of all of the germs. Furthermore, you may have to soak the surface in the disinfecting solution to achieve desirable results.
Dashing Maids is here to help with your cleaning needs. Call us to schedule your next cleaning.
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