Cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting may seem to mean the same, but in reality, they are three different concepts that we must be clear about when washing our vehicles. Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, many questions have arisen about these processes and the role played by each. Today, we’re going to tell you about the differences and the objectives you will achieve if you clean, sanitize or disinfect your vehicle.  

CLEAN 

When we clean a vehicle, we generally use detergent products designed to eliminate dirt from the car. Therefore, after the wash process, you will get a shiny car, but without ensuring that the surface is free of viruses, bacteria or fungi. To do this, you will need to use other types of products that are effective against these microorganisms.  

DISINFECT 

Disinfectants are biocidal products and their main function is to eliminate microorganisms; and we can disinfect our vehicles with them. Disinfectant products must be approved by the competent authorities (generally the Department of Health), for which they must have carried out different tests on their effectiveness against bacteria, viruses and/or fungi. Also, there is a great variety of products with different biocidal effectiveness among disinfectant products.  

SANITIZE 

Sanitization refers to cleaning processes that help to remove some of the microbiological contamination present, but without ensuring that complete disinfection takes place. This is due to the fact that no suitable products are used for this purpose (disinfectants) or that the cleaning and disinfection conditions are not sufficient to guarantee disinfection. In other words, it is a slightly more thorough cleaning that helps reduce the microbial load, but does not ensure disinfection conditions. 

Now that you know the differences between these three concepts, you should know that at ISTOBAL we lead the development of advanced technologies for cleaning, sanitization and disinfection through not only wash solutions but also solutions that guarantee the safety of people and the disinfection of vehicles, machines, wash facilities and work spaces. If you need more information, do not hesitate to contact us here.