Commercial cleaning services all over the United States advertise sanitation services with “hospital-grade” sanitizing agents. But what makes a sanitizer “hospital-grade”? Sanitizer expert and entrepreneur behind Safety Wercs in Boca Raton, Florida,/ David Morrison explains what a sanitizer must do to get the EPA’s seal of approval as “hospital grade.”
Sanitizers, Sterilizers, and Disinfectants
It is important to know the difference between sanitizers, sterilizers, and disinfectants if you run a business in which good hygiene is essential, Safety Wercs entrepreneur David Morrison says. The distinctions make a difference in both cost and effectiveness.
- Sanitizers reduce the number of microorganisms to levels considered safe. A sanitizer will not wipe out every germ it touches. Health codes and regulations for food preparation facilities and patient-care providers usually promote this standard.
- Sterilizers, on the other hand, are intended to eliminate all bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites that come in contact with critical surfaces. Sterilizers are designed, for instance, to keep surgical instruments clean. A hospital room or a cafeteria, in contrast, may be cleaned with a sanitizer or a disinfectant.
- Disinfectants kill live microorganisms, but not necessarily bacteria and fungus spores. They are used on hard, non-porous surfaces, like countertops and door handles. They are also used on living tissues, such as skin.
Cleaning doesn’t kill germs. It just refers to the physical removal of dirt, grease, grime, and microbes. Cleaning that is not done carefully can spread germs, rather than eliminating them,
What Does It Mean for a Sanitizer to Be Hospital-Grade?
The EPA allows disinfectants and sanitizers to be advertised as hospital grade” if they kill significant numbers of just two kinds of microorganisms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.
Killing these two kinds of germs is very important.
Pseudomonas is responsible for about one in every five cases of pneumonia in hospital patients, about one in ten urinary tract infections in hospital patients, and about one in fourteen infected surgical incisions. Staph infections are an even more common cause of infections in hospital patients. They can result in sepsis, which is potentially fatal.
Every year, up to 20,000 people die from staph-related sepsis they acquired during a hospital stay. About 3,000 people die of Pseudomonas. That’s why it is so important to control these two infections with hospital-grade sanitizers.
Is “Hospital-Grade” the Right Standard?
Hospital-grade sanitizers make a difference. But they don’t always stop E. coli, strep infections, flu viruses, colds viruses, yeast infections, or any of the scarier new pathogens that are spreading through the USA very rapidly.
But hospital-grade disinfectants sometimes kill other kinds of infectious agents. Something as simple as sodium hypochlorite (the active ingredient in Clorox) can kill at least 48 kinds of germs on contact.
You just need to make sure that the disinfectant or sanitizer you use, or your cleaning company uses, kills all of the kinds of microorganisms that are potentially problematic in your place of business. Ask your cleaning contractor about the control of E. coli and Salmonella, plus airborne diseases (although how it is used makes a big difference).
Safety Wercs entrepreneur David Morrison advises that many cleaning companies do a great job. It is not enough, however, to rely on a germ-killing cleaner that is just “hospital grade.”