Deep Cleaning Vs. Sanitizing - What's Best?

Following the recent outbreaks of H1N1, MRSA, C. Difficile, and increasing fears of microbial and viral pandemics as reported in the media in the past few years, the public has finally caught on to the idea that germs are everywhere. With this awareness has come the expectation that we should be eradicating germs every day and everywhere.

In spite of the increased awareness about germs, there is still a need for clarification of situations where sanitizing (killing germs) and deep cleaning (removing soils, germs and other organic materials from surfaces) are required. To put it simply, soaps and cleaning products (including deep cleaning products like EATOILS™ products) do the 'cleaning', while sanitizers (including bleach, vinegar, peroxides, quat (quaternary ammonia), ammonia, etc.) kill germs - both the good ones and the bad ones.

Both jobs are necessary, particularly in sensitive environments however, many contractors and clients believe that sanitizing can be 'the magic bullet' - a one step solution - for solving the cleaning/sanitizing challenge. Both jobs need to be done yet there is no one product that does both jobs.  

CLEANING Regular soaps and traditional cleaning products remove surface soils and most germs. Deep cleaning MICROBIAL products like EATOILS™ GREENER-CHOICE™ APPROVED GREEN cleaning products also work like traditional cleaning products to clean soils and remove germs.  However these products also keep on working for up to 4 days - with microbial cleaning action - to remove trace organic matter from deep in surface pores, cracks and crevices; leaving the cleaned surfaces exceptionally clean.  

SANITIZING Sanitizing products kill everything on the surface for the few seconds they are in contact with the surface. This is ideal for situations where you want to prevent the spread of diseases or harmful microbial & viral infestations.

In reality, there is no 'one best solution' - a combination of both product groups is actually the best overall solution to keep a facility both clean and germ free - and a combination that effectively optimizes the use of Deep Cleaning products will yield the best overall results. As the Deep Cleaning products require time to do their total job, the timing of when to use each product can be critical - for example, you wouldn't want to apply Deep Cleaning products right before you apply a sanitizer as you would defeat the purpose of the Deep Cleaning product by killing the good microbes before they would have a chance to do their work. On the other hand, you could easily apply the Deep Cleaning product 30 minutes after sanitizing. Also, sanitizing "touch surfaces" like door handles, toilet seats, taps, hand drying equipment, etc. is probably a good part of a regular and frequent treatment regimen for a sanitizing product. In this case you might opt for sanitizing throughout the day and Deep Cleaning at quitting time (which would allow the Deep Cleaning product to work non-stop overnight) to yield your best result.

Depending on the sensitivity of the location (with hospitals, doctor's offices, daycare facilities, nursing homes and food service ranking as highly sensitive locations - factories and office buildings ranking as least sensitive locations) a cleaning contractor or janitorial staff can adjust the balance between the frequency of use of each of the two types of products - deep cleaners and sanitizers to meet the needs of their client/facility.

We have clients in all sectors of food service, hospitality, industry, health care, institutional, and government using our EATOILS™ GREENER-CHOICE™ APPROVED GREEN Deep Cleaning products. We can help you to design and set up a balanced application schedule for your facility using Deep Cleaning products and sanitizing products. If you have any questions or application concerns please call us toll free at 866 621 8244 (North America) or come to our website - customer service personnel are standing by, ready to serve you - Mon - Fri - 9:00 - 5:00 EST/EDT.