To Disinfect or to Sanitize? That is the question!

Do you know the difference between disinfecting and sanitizing? When you have a big mess on your hands and need to find a product and method to clean up-do you sanitize or disinfect? Sanitizers are agents that destroy 99.999% of bacteria in 30 seconds according to a public health test called the Official Detergent Sanitizer test. According to the AOAC Use Dilution test, disinfectants are products that destroy all organisms in 10 minutes.

Sanitizing is a chemical process that will lessen or kill germs on surfaces to make then safe for use. It is important to sanitize your kitchen and surfaces that you prepare food on. It would also be wise to sanitize toys that come in contact with an infant's mouth. Usually your dishwasher comes with a sanitizing cycle during which your dishes and utensils will become as clean as possible.

Disinfecting requires a stronger solution to destroy germs rather than reducing them. You might want to disinfect the baby's diaper pail or changing table or the phone receiver during flu season. Other places to disinfect would be any area that comes in contact with blood or body fluids.