Cleaning, Sanitising and Disinfecting - What's the difference?
The terms ‘Cleaning’, ‘Sanitising’ and ‘Disinfecting’ have become buzzwords in the era of Covid 19. However, they were around in the pre-Covid 19 world, albeit less prominent. One would recall the tape placed around the toilet bowl upon entering a hotel room that proudly proclaimed “Sanitised for your safety”, or encounter the Housekeeping staff cleaning rooms whilst passing them by in the corridors.
Whilst these three words were, and still are used interchangeably, they have different and distinctive meanings and therefore must not be carelessly thrown about. We delved deep into many definitions from a variety of verified medical and industrial sources to bring you the correct definitions and clear up the confusion.
The most basic form is Cleaning. Cleaning means ‘free from dirt or pollution’ and is derived from the verb ‘to Cleanse’. Cleaning removes visible dirt, dust, stains, marks and other detritus that is visible to the naked eye. Some cleaning regimes may remove certain micro-organisms but the truth is that basic cleaning typically transfers them away from the surface being cleaned and onto the utensils and tools being used for the job. Cleaning typically does not kill or diminish the effect of bacteria and viruses. In fact, these micro-organisms may now be on both the cleaned surface (in part) and the cleaning utensil, and if the utensil is then used on another surface, transfer can occur! Therefore, it is paramount that cleaning utensils be disinfected or sanitised after use if they are to serve their intended purpose.
We have mentioned disinfecting and sanitising in that section. Let’s start with sanitising. The word means to remove not just the visible, but reduce the effectiveness of the invisible as well. Typically, sanitisation uses chemical means to reduce up to 99.9% of bacteria on the sanitised surface. However, sanitisation may not address viruses (such as the Coronavirus) unless the sanitising product being used expressly states so. It’s similar to catching a viral flu, visiting the Doctor and being informed that Antibiotics will not help. Without going into medical science, viruses are harder to kill than bacteria in some ways. So sanitising may at most reduce their effectiveness.
Enter disinfecting. Disinfecting is the most stringent regime that uses chemical and other means (such as UV light) to kill and eliminate microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. This is the most certain way to ensure a surface is as safe as possible – we cannot call it truly Covid 19 free due to the nature of the virus and how it spreads. For example, if the housekeeping person is asymptomatic (has the virus but doesn’t show outward signs), he or she can disinfect a surface, only to re-infect it by sneezing or coughing on it. So, hotels need to ensure that their staff are adequately screened for the virus as all the chemicals in the world are useless if there is a carrier among the staff who carry out the disinfecting process!
What about hand sanitisers, and washing the hands with soap and water? How come they kill the Covid 19 virus? Viruses have a fatty layer that soap and sanitisers can break down and thus destroy the virus genome given enough exposure over time. This is why it is recommended to rub the soap all over your hands for at thirty seconds. Now you may ask, why not clean a surface with soap and water? The key part is the time factor – you have to spend time and effort ensuring to rub the soapy liquid all over it for an adequate time. Also, you cannot clean electronic devices and electrical switches with soap and water. Disinfecting chemicals in spray form can do the same thing in a much shorter time, are safer for use on electronics and once the disinfecting chemicals have been applied and wiped away, a final sweep of the room with a UV light robot (as is being done in several hotels overseas) ensures a fully disinfected room. While the robot is doing its thing, the housekeeping staff can move on to the next room.
As a final note, it is important to remember to check and verify the relevant certifications of the chemicals that are used in your disinfecting and sanitising procedures, to ensure that they perform as intended and are safe for the staff to use on a regular basis.
Ashraaq Wahab Ashraaq Wahab is an automotive journalist, marketer and writer who enjoys penning his thoughts, insights and ideas on a variety of topics.
The above article is from our video series “19-Hospitality Related Questions on Covid-19", which can be viewed on our Youtube channel here Why not take a moment to share your experience with us, or if you have a question you'd like answered, get in touch through reachus@hospitalitysrilanka.com We hope to hear from you, and in the meantime, check out our social media feeds on Facebook and Instagram.
Shafeek Wahab - Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka
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