Cleaning VS Disinfecting? The Truth Behind The Difference

As business restrictions are gradually lifted in Malaysia, businesses are facing new challenges when reopening. Besides following government guidelines to ensure social distancing, businesses have to take into account how to ensure their staff, customers, and guests are protected against the risk of infection. 

While social distancing should be a priority, it may not be always feasible. High levels of hygiene are also essential to help prevent the chances of cross contamination. This is extremely important as COVID-19 is transmitted through bodily fluids. We normally think transmission occurs through sneezing, coughing or sharing food/drinks but the virus is also spread by touching infected surfaces and then rubbing our eyes, nose or mouths.

What makes things worse is the virus can remain active on different surfaces and can last for several days in the right conditions. Many companies have taken things in their own hands by cleaning their premises but did you know that cleaning is not enough? To ensure the safety of your customers and staff, proper disinfection is essential when business resumes.

Cleaning & Disinfection: What’s The Difference?

For some, cleaning and disinfecting your business may mean the same thing. However there is a very important difference between the two that affects your employees and customers. 

Cleaning is the removal of dirt from surfaces using water and detergents. Cleaning doesn’t actually kill microorganisms like bacteria and viruses, instead it removes them from surfaces, which increases the risk of transferring the viruses to the cleaning tools. 

Disinfection is the process of killing bacteria and viruses, usually using an active chemical that has been certified to be effective against a targeted microorganism. Disinfection is much more complicated than cleaning. Different chemicals are effective against different microorganisms, so it’s important for the users to understand which chemical is suitable. The chemicals also have different activation times, some may be instant while some may have a longer active period. It’s not as simple as taking a piece of cloth and wiping the chemical all over. Proper usage and application is the only way to ensure that disinfection is successful.

Precautionary Disinfection: Rentokil Surface Shield™ Sanitation

You may be asking, if I don’t have any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19, do I need disinfection services? Unfortunately you can never be too sure when and where surfaces are infected with the virus, and waiting for confirmed cases will mean it’s too late. Precautionary disinfection provides assurance to your employees and customers that your business premise is safe. 

Rentokil Surface Shield™ Sanitation is a disinfection treatment that is able to instantly disinfect surfaces in your premise with a microbial layer which provides protection for up to 30 days! This helps to protect your premise from the risk of infection when employees, customers or guests enter your building. The treatment also includes disinfection of critical touchpoints, such as door handles, light switches, railings, and more. 

Most importantly, the treatment is conducted by our licensed technicians and are equipped with complete Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). They are able to thoroughly disinfect your premises, completely dispose of any biohazardous waste and get your business back to normal operations all while ensuring your safety is not compromised in the process. Furthermore, we follow a strict “No Reusing PPE” as it can jeopardise customer safety. Together, this will be able to help assure both your staff and customers that they are in safe hands.

Now Is Not The Time To Relax

Until a vaccine for COVID-19 is invented and readily available, high levels of hygiene will be the new normal and need to be continuously practiced to ensure the safety of your employees, customers and those in your care. Rentokil Surface Shield™ Sanitation will provide peace of mind that all your facilities are safe and ready to go.