There are several types of sanitizers and disinfectants on the market, and they all serve the same goal in the end. These products are designed to eliminate germs and bacterial micro-organisms that live on the surfaces of countertops, desks, door handles, and more. Every professional janitorial company uses sanitizers to ensure the health safety and cleanliness of a commercial property. If you would like to do the same, consider these tips on how to effectively use different types of sanitizers.
Understanding Differences in Types of Sanitizers
Sanitizers are broken up into two main groups: food contact products and non-food contact products. As the name implies, food contact sanitizers are used on surfaces that come in contact with food. These include cutting boards, serving stations, food prep tables, and meat slicers.
Non-food contact sanitizers are made for surfaces that do not come in contact with food, like desks, cabinets, and furniture. These products can be just as effective as their counterparts, but they are applied in a different way.
Disinfectants also provide cleaning services for commercial surfaces, but they typically have longer dwell times than sanitizers. A sanitizer may only need to be on a surface for 30 seconds, while a disinfectant needs 10+ minutes to be fully effective.
Food Contact vs. Non-Food Contact Sanitizers
Both types of sanitizers can clean surfaces and kill micro-organisms, but non-food contact sanitizers do not offer any anti-viral cleaning options. This means that the chemicals in the non-food products are not made to kill the flu viruses and other issues that may be living on the surface. Even though non-food contact sanitizers are readily available on the market, most janitorial cleaning companies opt for food contact products because of their enhanced abilities.
How to Use Sanitizers Effectively
No matter what type of sanitizer you use, you need to make sure you apply it after the surface has already been cleaned off. Any debris or residue on the surface may block the sanitizer from the micro-organisms it is trying to target.
Food Contact Sanitizers
For food contact sanitizers, clean the surface off that you want to disinfect and rinse it with water. Then apply the sanitizer and wait for the dwell time before wiping it off. This will vary by product, but the dwell time should be mentioned on the cleaner.
Non-Food Contact Sanitizers
With non-food contact sanitizers, simply wipe the surface clean and apply the sanitizers. Wipe off any excess chemicals after the allotted dwell time.
