Define Disinfectant

Harmful illness-causing germs can lurk on almost any surface, and while a thorough cleaning can get rid of most germs, it takes a disinfectant to kill them and keep them from spreading.

Definition

• A disinfectant is any substance or agent that disinfects an inanimate object by destroying or preventing the growth of disease-causing bacteria and viruses. Disinfectants can include heat, radiation or chemicals.

Function

• Disinfectants can work in several ways. They can kill bacteria by breaking down the cell walls of germs through oxidation. Disinfectants can also deactivate germs by preventing their synthetic processes or preventing them from creating energy.

Types

• While heat and radiation can be used to disinfect objects, chemicals are most commonly used in households. There are many kinds of chemicals that can disinfect, but the most frequently used in everyday cleansing include bleach, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol and halogenated tertiary amines.

Effectiveness

• Different disinfectants work to kill different types of germs. Some are made to eliminate specific bacteria or viruses. Other disinfectants, known as broad-spectrum, are made up of a combination of substances to form an agent that can kill many different kinds of germs.

Choose a Disinfectant

• To determine which disinfectants will work best on a certain type of bacteria or virus, check the label on the container for an EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) number. All commercial disinfectants register their effectiveness with the EPA. The number can be checked on the EPA website at EPA.gov.

Antiseptics

• Similar to disinfectants are antiseptics, which are also used to kill or prevent the growth of bacteria. The difference is that the use of the word antiseptic usually refers to a substance that is nontoxic enough that it can be used on living tissues, such as rubbing alcohol.