Importance of Sanitizing Surfaces

You might say “I'm always cleaning everything, that is why I know that my place is clean and safe.” Cleaning any room, surfaces, and such can make it look good but to just clean it and not sanitizing afterward doesn't kill the bacterias, germs, and other microorganisms.

What's the difference?

First, let us look at their definition. Cleaning is an act to remove dirt, organize things, and remove bad smells. Whereas, sanitizing is an act of killing germs, bacterias, and other microorganisms by using anti-bacterial products.

Now, let us look at some examples:

Kitchen Counter Tops – Cleaning the counter tops would just mean that we're just wiping it with soap and water. Or, for some, they would just wipe it with a damp rag. Sanitizing it would mean that, after cleaning, we're going to apply anti-bacterial products or other sanitizing methods.

Hospitals – Every surfaces in an hospital is cleaned and sanitized with an anti-bacterial cleaner. Even the doctor's instruments are sanitized before using it on the next patient.

Telephone – A study conducted by the University of Arizona in a work place, the telephone is the number one object that has more bacteria than a toilet seat. Just imagine how many germs and bacterias are there and we end up touching them and putting it on our face!

Keyboard – This object takes the second spot of having the most bacteria in a workplace. Most people eat on their desk while working. Or after they've gone to the toilet, they'll work upon sitting without cleaning their hands first. I bet you don't want to touch your chips now!

So, why sanitize?

As I have previously said, sanitizing is an act of killing germs, bacterias, and other microorganisms. Usually, we use anti-bacterial soap and alcohol on our hands. But if the surfaces we touch on isn't sanitized, it would be useless. By sanitizing surfaces, we lessen the possibility of getting sick or worsening our illness.

Examples of diseases that we can get from dirty surfaces:

Salmonella – Is a microorganism that causes food poisoning in humans. We can get it from unclean foods – meaning foods that are prepared in a dirty kitchen, food prepared by an infected person, and polluted water.

Colds – The most common way that colds transfer from person to person is through sneezing. When someone sneezes on a surface then, without you knowing it, you end up touching that surface too. If you touch your face after that, it would only take 5 to 20 minutes for you to catch a cold.

There are so many diseases that are transferred from person to person through physical contact. The surfaces, counter tops, and common objects are just instruments for the germs to get to you. Nowadays, there are so many anti-bacterial products that we can use to sanitize anything from counter tops to children toys. Another piece of advice, whenever you're going to clean you surfaces, sanitize them afterward. Both of them go well together in killing germs, bacterias, and other microorganisms.