SANITATION vs. STERILIZATION vs. DISINFECTION

What Is the Difference Between Cleaning and Sanitizing?

Sanitizing and cleaning are both methods of enhancing hygiene.

But what is the difference between cleaning and sanitizing? It is easy to identify the two as the same, but they are not.

Cleaning involves removing dirt from a surface, while sanitation involves reducing the number of bacteria on the surface that has been cleaned to prevent them from causing harm.

Therefore, cleaning should be done first, and then sanitization follows to ensure the desired result.

For these two methods to be effective, the surfaces or item needs to be cleaned, rinsed, and sanitized properly, then left to dry.

What Is the Difference Between Sanitizing and Disinfecting?  Disinfection vs sanitization, which way to go?

It is a question that most people are currently asking themselves.

Sanitization is mostly used on food items to prevent transmission of diseases related to food poisoning.

Disinfection is used in hospitals to kill germs and viruses on surfaces that have come to contact with blood or body fluids.
Disinfecting is also done on any surface where a virus or bacteria are residing.

These two are effective in reducing the number of pathogens responsible for transmitting viral infections or any other type of disease.

What Is the Difference Between Disinfection and Sterilization?
Both sterilization and disinfection are well-known for working against microorganisms.

But the difference between disinfection and sterilization lies in their ability to destroy the pathogens.
Sterilization completely kills the bacteria and prevents their growth and reproduction. It works on both vegetative and spore bacteria.

In contrast, disinfection majorly reduces the level of the pathogens to a level where they are not harmful anymore.
Therefore, disinfection only works to make the population of the bacteria less, while sterilization allows eliminating the population.

Hence, in the battle of disinfection vs sterilization, sterilization would deliver the best results for eliminating pathogens.

In the battle of whether to sanitize vs disinfect vs sterilize, the difference lies in the methods used and when to do it. Understanding the differences aids you in choosing the appropriate technique and products that will give the best results.

In a nutshell, sterilization completely eradicates pathogens, disinfection minimizes the number of microorganisms that are actively reproducing. At the same time, sanitization reduces the number of pathogens to a level where they can’t be harmful.

All these techniques work on destroying bacteria, and if used appropriately, we can always achieve the control we are aiming at.