Understand Disinfecting and Sanitizing

Custodial managers, now more than ever, are relying on their distributors to keep their facilities safe and in compliance. Specifically, managers are looking to their distributor for training and education on how to identify the difference between sanitizing and disinfecting.

"People tend to use the words sanitizing and disinfecting interchangeably," says Steve Rathbun, janitorial sales manager for Cedar Falls, Iowa-based Martin Brothers Distributing Co., Inc. "If you asked the typical person in a restaurant, they wouldn't know the difference between sanitizing and disinfecting, unless we tell them."

In fact, there is a big difference. Sanitizing kills 99.9 percent of all organisms, whereas disinfecting kills 100 percent, says Rathbun.

"Disinfectants and sanitizers both fall under federal regulations for pesticides, so you have to follow pesticide regulations when you are using those," he adds. "The typical restaurant owner doesn't know that."

Custodial workers also need to know that sanitizers don't need to be rinsed on a food contact surface; disinfectants do. The surface has to be pre-cleaned before using a sanitizer; a disinfectant cleans and disinfects at the same time. Sanitizers need adequate dwell time to do their job, and then they need to air dry. What often gets overlooked, Rathbun says, is that a disinfectant must be rinsed with potable water after cleaning.

"That's a big must," says Rathbun. "If you don't, to an inspector, that's just like taking a can of insecticide, spraying it on the table, and walking away."

Using sanitizing and disinfecting products correctly will keep areas clean and companies in compliance.

"If someone does get food poisoning and there is an outbreak, the first thing the inspectors look at is the cleaning products being used," says Leland Fishman, president of Petaluma, Calif.-based Fishman Supply Co.
 

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