Knowing the difference:Decontaminate then Disinfect

To put it simply – Washing your hands/benchtops or any other surface with soap is Decontaminating & using a disinfectant is the chemical attack needed to destroy the germs.

“What the research shows very clearly is that disinfectants may not necessarily be the best thing to use if you haven’t actually cleaned the surface first.

“That is supported by over 20 years of research into the issue of contamination, particularly in hospitals.”

It is not good enough to just clean a kitchen bench for example with just disinfectant. You need to decontaminate first. You need to make sure you get into all the nooks and crannies to get rid of the caked on junk, food liquid and other particles, then go over it with disinfectant. So decontaminate then apply disinfectant.

Doing a thorough clean takes time:

Thorough cleans take much longer than you might think - an operating theatre in a hospital, for example, can take between 45 minutes to an hour to terminally clean.

“A terminal clean” is the official term for it, and essentially what has to happen is that all the loose, disposable items need to be stripped down and thrown away, and every surface needs to be cleaned of grime.

Your kitchen for example is no different. The grime and gunk which are called biofilm is where bacteria and viruses live. This is a source of reinfection that needs to be taken into consideration when cleaning, which is why a thorough clean takes extra time. You need to decontaminate then disinfect.

Decontaminating is a process that removes dirt, dust, large numbers of microorganisms and the organic matter using detergent and warm water or disposable detergent wipes. Cleaning is a pre-requisite to disinfection or sterilisation its a general term used to describe the destruction or removal of microbial contamination to render an item or the environment safe.

Disinfecting is a process of removing or killing most, but not all viable organisms. The aim of disinfection is to reduce the number of micro-organisms to a level at which they are not harmful.

The proper use of hospital grade disinfectants can help contain and prevent the spread of harmful bacteria and viruses. Many infectious diseases can be halted in their tracks by the proper use of disinfectants.

To book your clean email Dianne info@divinecleaning.com.au

You need to decontaminate then disinfect.

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