Clean, Sanitize or Disinfect: What the Label Really Means

How to use a sanitizer or disinfectant the right way

1. 1

   Find the EPA registration number

   Turn the bottle around and find the EPA registration number on the label. If there is none, the product is not an EPA-registered sanitizer or disinfectant, whatever the front says.

2. 2

   Read the directions for your surface

   Find the word “sanitize” or “disinfect” in the directions, and check that your surface is on the list. Note the contact time, and whether the label says to rinse food surfaces afterward.

3. 3

   Gloves on, window open

   Put on rubber gloves and open a window or turn on a fan. The CDC says to wear the protective gear the label recommends and to make sure the room has good air.

1. 4

   Wash the surface with soap and water first

   Wash the counter, board or sink with hot, soapy water, then rinse and wipe off the suds. The CDC says to clean the surface with soap and water first.

2. 5

   Apply it and keep it wet for the full contact time

   Spray or wipe on the product exactly as the label says, and set a timer for the contact time. The EPA says the surface should stay wet the whole time, so if it starts to dry early, apply a little more.

   What it looks like: the whole surface shiny wet until the timer rings.

3. 6

   Finish the way the label says, then put it away

   Rinse or air dry as the label directs. Take off your gloves and wash your hands. Close the lid tightly and put the bottle up high, away from kids and pets.

Common mix-ups, and what to do instead

• Lemon and salt on the board after raw chicken. Scrubbing really is part of cleaning, and the CDC says to clean with water, soap and scrubbing. But you will not find an EPA registration number on a lemon. The CDC says to wash counters with hot, soapy water, then sanitize any spot the raw juice touched.
• The brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide. The grain of truth is that it is a mild bleach, sold as a liquid non-chlorine bleach for laundry. But the drugstore bottle’s label lists it as a “First Aid Antiseptic” for minor cuts and scrapes, with no surface directions. If you want a surface product, pick one whose label names your surface.
• Any bleach will do. The grain of truth is that regular bleach can be diluted for disinfecting. But the CDC says some laundry bleach and splashless bleach are not right for that job, and to skip any bottle that does not list 5% to 9% sodium hypochlorite.

When it will not work, and what to do instead

Most failures come from skipping a step, and each one has an easy fix.

• You wiped it off right away. The EPA says to pay close attention to the contact time, “how long the surface must remain wet.” Apply it again and let the timer run out.
• Your surface is not on the label. Do not use it there. Choose a product whose label lists that surface.
• The bleach mix is from yesterday. The CDC says diluted bleach is not as effective after 24 hours, so make a fresh mix each day and pour out the old one.
• Nobody is sick and no raw meat touched it. You probably do not need this at all. The CDC says sanitizing or disinfecting at home is “likely not needed” unless someone in the home is sick.

Why it works

Soap is the workhorse here. It grabs onto grease and grime and lets the rinse water carry them off, and the CDC says cleaning “removes most germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces.”

Sanitizers and disinfectants have to pass EPA testing, and the label tells you how to get the result they were tested for. That is why the contact time matters so much.

Think of it like a box of hair color. If you rinse it out after one minute instead of the time on the box, you cannot blame the color for not taking.