Pros & Cons on Sanitizing and Disinfecting (4 Mins Read)

Pros & Cons on Sanitizing and Disinfecting. There are many diseases causing elements present in the environment. These elements or germs are capable to cause infectious diseases. Cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting are the broad aspects that we can use in order to prevent the spread of these germs and eventually save ourselves from infectious diseases.

Here is the catch – Though cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting can greatly contribute to keeping the surroundings clean and safe it can also have some downsides too. How?

Because all the cleaning process requires some type of chemical use, be it for cleaning sanitizing or disinfecting. In order to make your life more healthy and safe from diseases, you need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of certain chemical cleaning products.

That is why we have collected some information and brought you this article to give you some pros and cons of cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting. But before you go down and read that, you need to understand what separates these three processes.

So, without further ado let us first look at the difference between cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting.

Table of Contents

Pros & Cons on Sanitizing and Disinfecting – Difference between cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting

Cleaning –

Cleaning is the process of removing all the dirt, germs and other impurities from a surface or object in order. Due to the cleaning process, all the diseases causing germs are removed in large numbers which could otherwise cause sickness and illness.

You may want to note that cleaning removes most impurities and germs but does not kill it. The biggest problem when cleaning is done without any other methods is that – there are very high chances of cross-contamination.

Products in the cleaning method include:

Soap and detergent
Dump/dry cloth
Water
Vacuum
Brush
Scrub

Methods included in cleaning:

Dusting
Vacuuming
Scrape
Mopping
Rinsing

This was cleaning process, products, and other cleaning methods, now let us move on and see:

Sanitizing –

Sanitizing is the process which helps to lower the number of germs and other diseases causing elements from surface and objects. Sanitizing must be done after the cleaning process to reach maximum results.

There are few methods in sanitizing which could properly remove maximum germs and make the surface usable:

Heat – There are many heating elements such as hot water, hot air, and steam.

Radiation – Using ultraviolet rays to kill bacteria, mold, virus and other pathogens.

Chemicals – Sanitizers are used in this process to lower the number of germs.

Products included in Sanitizing –

Chlorine-based cleanser
Iodine
Quaternary ammonium

Disinfecting –

In this process, germs are actually killed from the surface or objects so that the risk of spreading infection can be lowered.

In disinfecting, chemicals like Hydrogen peroxide, Sodium hypochlorite, Iodophors, Quaternary ammonium compounds, Phenols, etc. are used to kill germs. The disinfectant products come with a dwell time aka contact time printed on their label.

If proper contact time or dwell time is not followed, germs will not get killed in the operation.

This was the basic difference between cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting. As you have noted, chemical products are used in all the processes of killing germs, which cannot be criticized because they are in great use.

At the same time, all those products may harm the surface, object, individual near the application and environment. Here below are the pros and cons you must need to be aware of.

Pros and cons of cleaning

Cleaning involves some chemical products like Ammonia, 2-Butoxyethanol, Coal tar dye, Phosphates, Sodium hydroxide, etc. it can have the following advantages and disadvantages:

Pros:

Chemical cleaning is more effective than making use of non-chemical products.
The removal of germs and other pathogens does not take much time.
Chemical substances can easily replace soap and water.
It generates less water material.

Cons:

Cleaning chemicals may indirectly affect the environment. (Soil, aquatic life, etc.)

Solution:

You can use eco-friendly products for cleaning surfaces and objects as they give the best results without damaging the human health or environment. Such products are lemon, vinegar, baking soda, etc.

Pros and cons of Sanitizing

Chemical products used in sanitizing is a sanitizer that removes the debris and germs from the surface, it can have the following advantages and disadvantages:

Pros:

Sanitizers are cheap and effective in their job.
It does not irritate the skin even after contact.
It can be combined with detergent.
It is non-corrosive.

Cons:

It cannot be used to clean off dirt or grease, etc.

Pros and cons of Disinfecting

The disinfecting process uses chemicals that do not remove germs but kills it, here are the advantages and disadvantages that disinfecting could have:

Pros:

It gives great control over germs and pathogens.
Disinfectants are inexpensive and easily accessible.
Greatly reduces the risk of germs cross-contamination.
It is widely used in hospitals.

Cons:

It cannot be disposed of in ordinary waste.
Some products used in this process have definite shelf-life.

Conclusion

There you go, Pros and cons of cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting covered in this article along with the major difference between the three. Hope you find this article helpful. Good Luck!