Cleaning, sanitising, disinfecting. Aren't they the same?
 
In short...no.
 
These terms have been bounded around a lot since March 2020, when life took an irreversible turn, and that other little known term Coronavirus became ubiquitous. When it came to the health and wellbeing of employees, cleaners were suddenly superheroes - we've been saying this for years at Sitemark - and we had to tackle a new normal: it's the germs you don't' see, and not the grime you do, that matter most. So, what are the differences between something being clean, sanitised or disinfected? We have a brilliant downloadable factsheet on this you can download it for FREE here, but in brief:
 
Quick fact check

• Cleaning removes up to 90% of soil and micro-organisms
• Sanitising reduces bacteria, viruses, and fungi by 99.9%
• Disinfecting destroys bacteria, viruses, and fungi by 99.999%
• Dwell (contact) times are crucial to effectiveness - see our previous post about this here

Conclusion
 
Choose the correct method for the circumstance. In most scenarios, general cleaning - done properly and effectively - will be perfectly adequate. But, after a COVID-19 outbreak we'd always recommend a best practice, 2-Stage cleaning process, which thoroughly cleans and then disinfects, followed by a hygiene audit.
 
"If there's a better way to deliver your FM services we will help you find it"
 
T: 01684 580680
E: efficiency@sitemark.co.uk
W: www.sitemark.co.uk