Keeping your home and other places clean and keeping the people in the area safe is an especially important task. Especially with the current Covid-19 pandemic. When used as suggested, disinfectants are one of the best ways to do just this.

One thing about disinfectants though is that when used improperly, they can cause big headaches. To keep frustration out of your cleaning duties, here a few tips for using disinfectants.

Tip 1: FIBERS
Adding microfibers to your disinfectants has been shown to be highly effective. This doesn’t mean tear up a cloth and put it in your solution. Just use them to wipe and apply your cleaner.

Microfiber cloths and mops work better than natural fiber counterparts. Natural fibers absorb ingredients of your disinfectant instead of applying it to the surface you are cleaning. This is essentially wasting your cleaner.

Tip 2: Clean Solutions
When you are cleaning, whether with a mop and bucket or rag and bucket, one thing you should avoid is dipping a dirty mop or rag into your cleaning product.

Healthcare facilities have implemented a process that requires changing mop water after every couple of rooms. This helps prevent spreading bacteria instead of clearing bacterias.

If you are using a microfiber cleaning tool you actually will want to switch it out after every room and do not put it back into your disinfectant.

Tip 3: High Contamination Points
Bacteria of any kind is highly reproductive and can double in less than half an hour.

High contamination points are areas that get touched most often. Doorknobs, light switches, handrails, and elevator buttons gather bacteria faster than other surfaces. These and restrooms should be disinfected much more frequently.

Another thing, do not forget to do towel and toilet paper holders, or hand dryers and trash cans.

Tip 4: Clean Before You Disinfect
Before you start wiping down everything, you need to actually clean it first.

Cleaning means removing any dirt and grime from surfaces. Applying disinfectant without clearing dirt can lead to streaky surfaces that are still not fully disinfected.

Also, disinfectants are liquids, adding liquid to dirt makes it even harder to clean and dirtier looking.

Tip 5: Let It Sit
If you read the disinfectants label, like you should, you will find that they have a specific amount of time they need to kill germs and bacteria. This means the surface has to be wet with the solution to work.

This means you don’t need to immediately wipe the disinfectant. In fact, if you do, you are wasting your disinfectant because it isn’t able to do its job.

In fact, disinfectant wipes don’t need wiping off at all. You wipe the surface and let it dry on its own.

Tip 6: Proper Mixing
To dilute concentrated formulas, you need to be sure it is done properly. Without the right ratio you could be watering it down too much so it loses disinfectant properties, or it has too much and can ruin some surfaces.

When it comes to mixing one disinfectant with another, Do Not Do It! Mixing chemicals together changes their properties and there is no telling what you could create.