We are constantly depositing and picking up germs. Germs spread quickly.
There can be up to 10 million bacteria on your fingertips at any given time.
As your hands continue to touch other surfaces, new bacteria replace dead sources.
A single gram of feces contains a trillion germs.
2 million bacteria per square inch are on the average public restroom floor.
Flushing a toilet can spread droplets out of the toilet 3-6 feet.
Norovirus (stomach flu) can be easily spread in communal bathrooms as well as other non-obvious pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).
Disinfectants are not used properly
Did you know? Many disinfectants require gloves and/or ventilation for safe use
Did you know? Most disinfectants require 2 to 10 minutes of dwell time on surfaces before being wiped
Did you know? Current residual disinfectants require continued surface spray disinfection for use
What is the difference between a virus and bacteria?
BACTERIA ARE HARD TO KILL
Bacteria are single-celled organisms that are 10-1000x larger than viruses. They need certain conditions to survive.
Killing or suppression of the survival of just bacteria is referred to as sanitization.
VIRUSES ARE EVEN HARDER
Viruses can survive on a surface and be infective as long as they stay intact to reach a living host.
Killing of viruses along with bacteria is referred to as disinfection.
[1] Based on US EPA Interim Method for Evaluating the Efficacy of Antimicrobial Surface Coatings (pdf) testing