Trust me. You're Not Letting Your Disinfectant Sit Long Enough.

In my decades of experience in cleaning to disinfect germs, the number one mistake I see people make is they spray disinfectant, immediately wipe it off and then go on to the next surface. To my horror, I see this happen in hospitals, clinics, restaurants and even nail salons. The disinfectant isn't killing germs because it's not sitting long enough on the surface.

It's Important to Understand Dwell Times

I want SoRite users to be aware of DWELL times. It's a funny word that can mean "live or reside" but also means "sits, lingers, hangs out!" And when it comes to killing bacteria and viruses, it's how long a disinfectant sits wet on the surface that matters.

There's no magic time period for a product to dwell because all disinfectants are made with different active ingredients. Some enzymatic disinfectants require up to 20 or 30 minutes to neutralize bacteria. YOU MUST READ THE LABEL to know how long your product should sit on the surface in order for it to work as advertised. If the product dries too soon or is wiped away prematurely, its active ingredient stops working and the pathogens on the surface are left to multiply.

Read The Label To Get It Right

Let me use SoRite as an example. We put our dwell time for the Covid virus right on the front label. SoRite Disinfectant kills Sars-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid) in 15 seconds. That means if there's a covid outbreak in your church or school and you're cleaning to kill germs on desks, tables and pews, the surface needs to stay wet with SoRite for a full 15 seconds.

The same is true for bacteria such as MRSA, E. coli, Listeria and Strep. The main ingredients in SoRite actually kill these deadly germs in 15 seconds. But not if you spray and swipe. You have to spray, wait 15 seconds and then wipe.

Further examination of our product label indicates that certain microorganisms require extended dwell times to achieve full efficacy. For instance, Pseudomonas aeruginosa—frequently encountered in healthcare environments—can linger on surfaces, spread through touch or even food, and cause everything from fevers and coughs to ear and eye infections. We clearly state that to kill pseudomonas aeruginosa and other broad-spectrum bacteria, SoRite needs to dwell on a surface for one minute—a full sixty seconds. For use to control mold, SoRite needs to dwell for a full ten minutes. That means depending on temperature conditions in your room, you may need to apply a second spray to keep the surface wet long enough.

How Long Are You Willing To Wait?

Ten minutes is a long time when you're trying to keep a surface wet. Especially if you're using wipes as they can dry out more quickly. And yet one of the oldest disinfectants in use today is bleach (a.k.a. sodium hypochlorite) which typically takes up to 10 minutes to disinfect (depending on the concentration). That's 10 minutes to kill mold as well as many viruses and bacteria.

In creating SoRite, we set out to pioneer a chemistry that would be safe for people, pets, plants, fabrics, and the environment and tough on germs. We realize that most people don't clean and wait around for a product to work. We knew our product had to be fast at killing germs. And that's what SoRite delivers.

In addition, SoRite is non-reactive. At a shopping center near my home, I recently drove by seven fire trucks, two ambulances and a host of additional emergency vehicles to later find that an employee at one of the small shops had poured bleach down a sink that had been treated with drain cleaner! Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but this could easily have turned deadly. You should never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia, glass cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, drain cleaner, rubbing alcohol or any other cleaning products.

Autumn's SoRite Cleaning Tips

Like I always say, it takes a janitor to know a janitor. After years of experience, I know that in order to be efficient as well as effective you need to keep the cleaning project moving. So here are a few tips I've learned along the way.

1. Read the label. Dwell times are always listed on disinfectants under the heading "Directions For Use."

2. Work in sections so that you can spray one area, and while that area is sitting, you can move to the next. Spray the second area and come back to the first. Note whether or not the solution needs to be reapplied in order to keep the surface wet for the full dwell time.

3. If using wipes, you'll need to reapply more often. The same is true for a light mist such as from a fogger or electronic sprayer.

4. Wiping before the specified dwell time is reached can result in cross contamination because not all of the germs have been killed. To further prevent cross contamination, use the folded towel method. Wipe, fold. Wipe Fold, Wipe, Fold. Toss.

Education Is Key to Cleaning That Works

The SoRite Company wears a lot of hats. We make products for a wide swath of end users, some who rely on our products for their own safety such as drug enforcement and first responders. It's why we are fanatics when it comes to education. And not JUST for professionals. Anyone who cleans—whether in your home or in public spaces—needs to know how to clean properly. We are on a mission to make cleaning better, faster and safer for all.