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Many people confuse cleaning itself with disinfection. When we treat surfaces with cleaning and detergents, we erase dust and various types of dirt from them.
Dirt is an excellent breeding ground for microbes, including pathogenic ones. Especially if it is of biological origin: fat, pieces of food, secretions of the human body. So after cleaning, there really are fewer microorganisms — we just remove them along with the dirt.
But some of this fauna still remains alive and quite unharmed. Therefore, if you want to get rid of bacteria, viral particles, fungus, helminth eggs and other filth, it is better to connect disinfection as well. For example, to treat surfaces with steam, sterilize things by boiling that it will not harm, and, of course, use disinfectants, that is, means with antimicrobial properties.
The fight against germs is especially important when it comes to cleaning the bathroom, as well as objects and surfaces that we often touch: faucet fans, door handles, phone, computer keyboard. And of course, if there is a person at home with an infectious disease, treating places and common items with a disinfectant solution will help healthy family members not to get infected.
However, smearing antiseptic on a dirty or dusty surface is ineffective from all points of view. Therefore, first you need to wash everything with soap or cleaning products — and only then disinfect.
Experts note 16 cleaning myths that are only making your home dirtier / Insider that chlorine-containing solutions work as disinfectants, but not all of them have good washing ability and cope with dirt.
In addition, such products are not suitable for all surfaces. After them, light spots may remain on stainless steel, wood, painted furniture. Especially if you overdo it with bleach, keep it for a long time or wash it off badly.
Finally, chlorine-containing solutions are unsafe for health: they are capable of T. Benzoni, J. D. Hatcher. Bleach Toxicity / StatPearls / U. S. National Library of Medicine cause eye, skin and respiratory tract irritation, difficulty breathing. Special care should be taken if there are small children in the family who can touch the floor washed with such a tool, and then put their hands in their mouths or rub their eyes with them.
Therefore, it is better to treat plumbing and bathroom tiles with bleach in any form, and use less toxic agents for floors and other surfaces in the house.
They are sometimes recommended to wipe almost everything in the house, including the floor, plumbing, countertops and leather furniture.
Vinegar is really great for washing windows or removing limescale from faucets and sinks. But do not forget that this is an acid that can damage some surfaces, such as wood and granite.
And therefore it is not necessary to wipe them additionally — they are already clean. Nevertheless, food and fat particles remain in the dishwasher, and a wide variety of substances, including biological origin, remain in the washing machine. Therefore, both there and there find 1. P. K. Raghupathi, J. Zupančič, A. D. Brejnrod, et al. Microbial diversity and putative opportunistic pathogens in dishwasher biofilm communities / Applied and Environmental Microbiology
2. Dirty laundry? How nasty germs survive in your washer / ABC News a fairly wide range of microorganisms, including Salmonella, E. coli and Candida fungi.
Therefore, it is better to wipe the drum of the washing machine What’s hiding in your laundry? / WebMD antiseptic after each wash. And once a month, run a cycle without things at a high temperature with the addition of a chlorine-containing agent.
In addition, both the dishwasher and the washing machine need to be regularly cleaned of limescale with the help of special formulations.
This is most often the case. Moreover, if you wash off the product badly, stains and streaks may remain. But some disinfectants, as well as compounds for removing scale, rust and frozen fat, should be applied to the surface and left for at least a few minutes so that they have time to act. Therefore, you should carefully read the instructions for each tool and strictly follow it.
