During this period of Covid-19, the cleanliness of your offices is a priority for your employees and for the fight against the spread of the virus. Disinfection is a key subject.
The objective of this article is to explain in a simple and understandable way the difference between a virucidal product and a bactericidal product to better recognize and choose them.
It is in no way intended to be a scientific document but simply adapted to the challenges of office cleaning.
What is behind the word disinfection?
Let's start with a definition of the word disinfection, according to Larousse it is:
“Destruction of micro-organisms in a place, an object, the external part of the human body.
Treatment of soil and seeds, generally with chemicals, to eliminate agents harmful to crops.”
To render these micro-organisms inactive, there are 5 categories of disinfection products adapted to the properties of each type of micro-organism:
- Bactericide for bacteria,
- Yeasticide for yeasts,
- Fungicidefor fungi (yeasts and molds),
- Sporicide for bacterial spores,
- Virucide for viruses.
Offices are mainlyprone to bacteria| ||318, en particulier les espaces sanitaires.
One of the main missions of cleaning companies working in offices is to ensure that the products used are effective and that the cleaning agents are properly trained in the use of these products.
How do I know which bacteria or viruses are killed by a product?
It is important to specify that a product can be bactericidal without being virucidal, and vice versa. A product can also have several of these properties.
The effectiveness of a product against micro-organisms is defined by European standards which are in the form EN XXXX. These standards make it possible to compare the antimicrobial activity of these products and to predict the action they will have on microbes.
In France, it isAFNOR| ||330 qui est en charge, entre autres, d’animer, de coordonner l’élaboration des normes et de les homologuer.
How do we know if a product is effective against Covid-19?
Covid-19 is, as its name suggests, a microorganism in the virus category.
To disinfect the coronavirus, you will need to use a virucidal product. You will then need to ensure that the products are effective.
It is the EN 14476 standard which will apply to fight against Covid-19.
Concretely, here is an example of what we can find on the technical sheet of a virucidal product used for thedisinfection of contact points:
You can also look at your bottle ofhydroalcoholic gel. It must normally contain the standards EN 1276 (against bacteria), EN 14476 (against viruses) and EN 1650 (against yeasts).
What is the correct way to use these products?|| |351
Les fiches techniques des produits permettent de connaître les conditions dans lesquelles le produit est efficace. Il faut respecter :
- the dosage, that is to say the quantity of product and the quantity of water to mix
- the temperature, a product is not as effective with water at 5°C, 10°C or 20°C
- the action time, the chemical reaction allowing the destruction of micro-organisms can vary from a few seconds to several hours
Thus, training cleaning teams in the proper use of equipment and products is essential. You can find more information on the training provided at Cleany here.
