If you try to search on the internet, you are assured to find a lot of information (along with misinformation and outright wrong information) regarding these 3 terms. Others say cleaning and sanitation are just the same things like this site for example.
All that said, we always recommend that you only get your sources from the most reliable sites if at all possible. When it comes to health, of course we have government agencies designated to tackle just that – the Philippines has the Department of Health (DOH) for example.
The United States of America (USA) has their The United States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) which is mandated to protect the overall health of all their citizens. Part of this government body is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which is designated to act on health emergencies like our current Covid-19 pandemic, and of course to control and stop the spread of diseases.
Cleaning, Sanitation and Disinfection Definitions
According to the CDC, cleaning simply removes impurities, dirt and germs from surfaces but not necessarily killing them. When these are removed however, it lowers the chances of infection. This is normally done by the application of soap products.
Disinfecting will result in the KILLING of germs on surfaces. This is done using chemicals or disinfectants that are meant to do just that, to kill bacteria, viruses and germs in general. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to remove germs like what cleaning does, but it can lower or eliminate them entirely further lowering the chances of infection.
Sanitation on the other hand is said to lower the presence of germs on surfaces to a point deemed safe by health standards. This is achieved by other cleaning or disinfecting procedures.
How best to protect yourself from Covid-19 infection from surfaces?
The CDC has recommended the cleaning of visible impurities on high contact places like door knobs, doors, elevator buttons, etc. After cleaning, disinfecting should follow for the best effect in avoiding infection.
Please do take note that there are of course proper ways and improper ways of disinfecting. Things like the technology (fogging vs misting) used in administering the disinfectants along with the quality AND the dilution of the said chemicals should be properly handled by experts otherwise, you might just end up relying on false security and increasing your chances of infection.
Worst, if the dilution of the disinfectants is too much, you are risking the lives of your employees and loved ones by exposing them to harmful chemicals.
