With health in mind, cleaning has become an important daily routine for new reasons. The task can be overwhelming when you consider all of the terms that are out there – cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing. We’ve already discussed the differences in sanitizing and disinfecting, but what about all-purpose cleaners?
Our products are all formulated for a specific job and they each have their place in a cleaning routine. All-purpose cleaners are no exception. What’s important is knowing what that job is and using these products to their full potential. The good news is that an all-purpose cleaner will clean a dirty surface. However, they are not a substitute for disinfectants.
The cleaning step comes before the disinfecting step. Dirt and other organic materials can make disinfectants less effective. While cleaners remove potentially harmful bacteria, this alone is not enough to create a healthy environment. In fact, if there is no visible soil, the cleaning step can be skipped altogether before disinfecting.
Cleaners and disinfectants work best in tandem. When used after cleaning, disinfectants kill 99.999% of germs if they are properly applied and dwell time is followed per label instructions. Together with cleaning, disinfectants reduce the risk of spreading infection by killing viruses and germs.
Luckily, there are disinfectants that can do both jobs. A product like MPC’s A2Z can be sprayed and wiped as a cleaner. Then by following the dwell time specified on the label, it will work as a disinfectant.
Remember, “to be precise, do it twice.” And when cleaning for health, check out our two-in-one cleaners and disinfectants here.
