Cleaning vs disinfecting – what is the difference?
Cleaning means reducing the number of germs on a surface by physically removing them. It doesn’t necessarily kill the germs but reduces their number thereby reducing the risk of infecting others. Anything labelled as a detergent will work for cleaning.
Disinfecting means using chemicals to kill germs. This process does not necessarily clean or remove germs but following cleaning can kill the germs, thereby reducing the risk of infecting others. It should be noted that not all disinfectants kill all germs – when in doubt use bleach and/or check the label of your product.