Cleaning vs. Disinfecting

We are servicing calls about a lot of miss-information concerning how to clean houses in regards to the COVID-19. So let’s go over the advice we like to give as a professional cleaning service.

#1 Cleaning with regular soap and water is super effective on all surfaces. It is cheap and easy! The coronavirus family (including SARS, MERS, and COVID-19) is what is called an “envelope virus” meaning that the virus has a lipid (or fatty) shell that is needed for it to infect you. Soap strips this lipid layer away and disables the virus, then use a rag to wipe it away. No need to get fancy: USE THE SOAP!

#2 Disinfecting works by using a chemical to disable the virus. Not all disinfectants work the same. In our opinion, Alcohol is the best solution for disinfecting.

  • Alcohol with a 60% or more content must be used and only requires 10 seconds of contact time.
  • Hydrogen peroxide with a 0.5% mixture rate can be used but must have 1 minute of contact time. A .05% mixture needs 1 cup of 3% Hydrogen peroxide to 6 cups of water
  • In a pinch, iodine can be used. 75-150 parts per million (very small amount) is effective in 1-2 seconds of contact time. Iodine WILL stain whatever it touches.
  • Our least favorite choice is Bleach. Bleach is toxic and it is the least effective. Bleach needs 4+ minutes of contact time to kill viruses. Do you let your counters soak for 4 minutes? Most people do not!

Have any other questions on what you can do to keep your home clean, ask away in the comments! We’re here to help.

19 comments on “Cleaning vs. Disinfecting

  1. Wonderful information, thanks a lot for sharing kind of content with us. Your blog gives the best and the most interesting information. I wonder if we can gather such practical information about cleaning vs disinfecting, Great one!!

  2. The best way to clean is simple and organic!! Thanks Mackenzie for providing real numbers that give some insight into how we can effectively clean our spaces to fight against viruses.

  3. I’ve been cleaning the bathroom(sink, toilet and bath/shower) with Clorox spray bottle for years, that means I’ve only been disinfecting and not cleaning all that time?

  4. Thanks for providing information on how using regular soap and water can be effective against COVID-19. The number of cases in our area hasn’t increased in a while so most people in our neighborhood are being more lenient. In my opinion, I still think that we should follow strict cleaning and disinfecting procedures before we enter and leave the house.

  5. Your blog is fabulous, gives good results… have learnt a lot about marketing from here. Please make more and more content. Thanks.

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