Disinfectants

Help prevent the spread of colds and flu by spraying a germ-killing disinfectant regularly on commonly touched surfaces such as telephones, keyboards and door handles.

Disinfectants destroy the growth of microorganisms. Disinfectants are often effective against the full spectrum of germs, including bacteria, viruses and fungi.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "disinfection" is killing more than 99.99% of germs on hard, nonporous surfaces in 10 minutes and may pertain to a number of different types of bacteria, viruses and fungi. The EPA defines "sanitation" as killing 99.99% of bacteria in 5 minutes or less.

Cleaners

Hard surface cleaners combine surfactants, water softeners and builders to effectively remove soil from surfaces. Other ingredients can be added for special cleaning needs. These include solvents, bleach and abrasives. Solvents are generally added to liquid cleaners to help dissolve tough soils such as greasy food soils and soap scum. Bleach can be added for extra stain removing power. Abrasives assist the cleaning agents in removing tough dirt such as soap scum and crusted-on food soils on stoves.