Which disinfection products we use

How we choose a product

We choose the product against four criteria:

The task — what we are working against: bacteria, fungus, an odour.
The surface — whether it is porous, metal, a food contact surface, or delicate.
The premises — requirements differ between a food business, a nursery and a warehouse.
The method — not every product is suitable for fogging; some foam or leave residue.

We use products intended for professional use, in line with their conditions of use. In practice that means several different products are often used on one site — one in the kitchen area, another in the bathroom, a third for fogging.

The main groups

Group	Where it is used	Note
Chlorine-based	Sanitary rooms, durable surfaces	Can bleach; never mix with others
Hydrogen peroxide based	Wide use, suitable for fogging	Breaks down, leaves virtually no residue
Quaternary ammonium compounds	Surfaces, everyday treatment	Longer-lasting action on the surface
Alcohol-based	Small surfaces, quick treatment	Evaporates fast
Fungicides	Mould treatment	Made specifically for fungi
Ozone (gas)	Rooms, textiles, ducts	Not a product — a method

None of these groups is “the best”. Each has a field where it works well and a field where it simply does nothing. An alcohol-based product on a small metal surface is ideal; on a damp porous wall it evaporates before it can do anything. A chlorine-based product is effective in a sanitary room; on a painted surface or fabric it leaves permanent marks.

A moderately good product used correctly gives a better result than the most expensive one used wrongly.

Which product for which surface

The type of surface decides more than the task does. A simple split that is useful at home as well.

1Hard, smooth, non-porousTile, glass, stainless steel, laminate. Almost any product works here if the surface is clean and the contact time is respected. Avoid chlorine on metal — it corrodes.

2Porous, absorbentPlaster, plasterboard, concrete, untreated timber. Here what matters is the product's ability to soak in and stay wet, so fast-evaporating ones are no use. Against fungus, use products made specifically for it.

3Textiles and soft furnishingsA liquid product only gets part of the way here — the problem is usually in the filling rather than on the surface. So for odours, ozone is used: it is a gas and penetrates the full thickness of the material.

4Food contact surfacesThe requirements are stricter: the product has to be intended for it, and the surface has to be rinsed with clean water after the contact time. Here “stronger” means “worse”.

A concrete example from practice. In a 90 m² restaurant kitchen, one product is used on work surfaces, another on the floor and drains, while the whole space is treated by fogging after service — because a hand cannot reach every gap and the undersides of the equipment. Three different solutions in one room, and none of them replaces the others.

What genuinely matters

This is the part that gets skipped most often, and it is exactly what determines the result:

A clean surface. No product works on a dirty surface, however strong it is. A layer of dirt and grease is a physical barrier that stops the product reaching what is underneath.
The correct concentration. Too weak and it does nothing; too strong gives no extra effect but can damage the surface and leave residue that then has to be rinsed off.
Contact time. Every product has a period it must stay wet on the surface. Sprayed on and immediately wiped off, it has had no time to do anything.
Complete coverage. The spot you missed is the spot the problem comes back from.
Surface wetness. A wet surface dilutes the solution. After washing, it is worth removing the excess water.

That is why we do not emphasise particular brands. The brand determines the active substance, but the result is determined by use. Someone looking for “the same thing the professionals use” is usually looking in the wrong place — the difference is not in the bottle.

What must never be mixed

This is the one point on this page where a mistake can genuinely be dangerous, so it gets its own section.

✓ Safe practice

One product at a time.
If you switch products, rinse the surface with water first.
Air the room while you work, not only afterwards.
Keep products in their original packaging.

✗ Never

A chlorine-based product with an acidic cleaner — that releases a harmful gas.
A chlorine-based product with an ammonia-based glass cleaner.
Two different products “to make it stronger”.
Decanting a product into a drinks bottle.

At home this usually happens by accident: the toilet is cleaned with an acidic limescale remover, and immediately afterwards bleach is used in the same place. Both are perfectly normal products on their own; together they are not. If you use two different products, there has to be a rinse with water and some airing in between.

Safety

Never mix different disinfectants.
Follow the concentration and contact time stated on the packaging.
Provide ventilation during the work and afterwards.
Wear gloves; if you are working with a concentrate, eye protection as well.
Rinse food contact surfaces with clean water after treatment.
Keep products out of the reach of children and in their original packaging.

More on when treatment is safe and when you may go back into the room: is disinfection safe.

Three widespread myths

These three assumptions cost people the most money and time, so they deserve their own section.

1“I need a stronger product”If a treatment did not work, in nine cases out of ten the reason is a dirty surface, a skipped contact time, or the fact that the problem is not on the surface. A stronger product solves none of those, but it can damage the surface.

2“If it smells, it works”Smell is not a measure of effectiveness. Ozone has no smell at all once it has broken down, yet it is one of the most effective methods against odours. And the reverse: a powerful smell may mean nothing more than added fragrance.

3“Natural means safer”Vinegar and citric acid are acids, and that is exactly why they must not be combined with chlorine-based products. “Natural” describes origin, not effect or safety.

There is a fourth myth that belongs on its own: the assumption that an air freshener, a fragrance or a scented cleaning product disinfects anything. They mask a smell for a few hours. If the source remains, the smell returns, and the only result is two smells where there was one.

Storage and shelf life

What happens to a product in the bottle between uses is rarely thought about — but it explains a good share of the cases where “the same product suddenly stopped working”.

Check the expiry date. Some active substances break down over time, and chlorine-based solutions lose their effect faster than most.
Do not store products in the sun or next to a heat source — that speeds up decomposition.
Make up diluted solutions for a single use rather than in bulk. Diluted, they keep far worse than the concentrate.
Do not put a product in a metal container unless the packaging permits it.
Keep the original label — it carries the concentration and the contact time, without which the product is useless.

A practical example: a bottle of bleach opened six months ago and left on a sunny windowsill, and the same bottle kept in a closed cupboard, are two different products. In the first case people conclude that “the product no longer works” and buy a dearer one, when a fresh bottle of the same product, stored properly, would have been enough.

Frequently asked questions

Can you tell me which product you will use on my premises?

Yes. After the inspection we tell you which product and method we will use and why that one.

Are the products safe for children?

Nobody may be in the room during treatment. After the treatment, airing and rinsing of food surfaces, the room is usable.

Do you use “natural” products?

We use products that are effective for the specific task. “Natural” means neither safer nor more effective — vinegar, for instance, is natural, but it does nothing against fungus inside a material.

Which products we use