Disinfect vs Sanitize: Know the Difference and What to Do

If you’re like most Americans, you’ve gotten pretty comfortable with your trusty bottle of hand sanitizer over the past two years. Sanitizing and disinfecting products have seen a huge spike in demand. Experts claim that the market for disinfectant alone will reach over $30 billion by 2027.

Of course, when you’re staring at the huge variety of products available in the aisle of your grocery store, it may be hard to figure out which one to grab. Disinfect vs sanitize: how can you tell what to do?

We’ve got you covered! Let’s take a quick look at the differences between each approach and when to use them.

Disinfect vs Sanitize: What’s the Difference?

When you disinfect something, you’re using chemicals to kill viruses, germs, and bacteria on a surface. Common household disinfectants like bleach and alcohol solutions are easy to use for this purpose. However, you’ll often need to leave the mixture on the surface for a specified amount of time.

Sanitizing, on the other hand, involves lowering the numbers of bacteria to a safer level. Note that even sanitizers with federal approval will only contain claims about how much bacteria they can eliminate, not viruses.

It’s worth noting that neither disinfecting nor sanitizing can physically remove dust or dirt from a surface. Cleaning should always be the first step before you sanitize or disinfect any material.

Which One Do You Need?

Choosing between sanitizer vs disinfectant will depend on your purpose in cleaning and where you are.

In many situations, a simple sanitizer spray may be all you need. You may not need to eliminate bacteria and viruses from every surface in your home, for example, making sanitization the preferred choice for some spaces.

However, there are many areas where you may want to do a more rigorous cleaning.

Disinfectant is always a good idea in bathrooms as well as kitchens, especially when you’re working with raw meat. In the age of COVID, you may also want to use disinfecting wipes on surfaces your family touches often, such as doorknobs and drawer handles. In cases when you know someone in your household is ill, switching to disinfectant is always the smarter choice.

What’s more, because disinfectant is such a crucial part of household cleaning, it’s easy to get your hands on a huge range of solutions. In addition to DIY solutions like bleach mixtures, disinfectant spray and wipes are easy to pick up in virtually any store, and modern fogging technology makes the perfect COVID disinfectant.

Because these products are so easy to use—and often just as affordable as sanitizing products—it’s often a smart idea to opt for disinfectants when you have any doubt over which approach is better.

Protect Your Home With the Right Products

Now that you know what happens when you disinfect vs sanitize your home, it’s time to dive in! With the right products, you’ll have no issue reducing the amount of bacteria or eliminating germs as needed. Whatever you decide, make sure you’re following the instructions on the product to give it enough time to work.

Need more tips to protect your health? Be sure to check out our other health, fitness, and lifestyle guides for more info.