With the different options of cleaner, sanitiser or disinfectant available it can be overwhelming knowing which product you should use for the job at hand. To find out more about the differences between a cleaner, disinfectant or sanitisers, and how you should use them please read our ‘Cleaning, Disinfecting, or sanitising- What are the differences?’ blog.

Disinfectant is used to kill microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi on surfaces or objects to stop the spread of infection. The efficiency of the disinfectant against certain microorganisms will be dependent on the individual product formulation. Disinfectants do not work as well under dirty conditions so pre-disinfection cleaning is always required to get the best results and further lower the risk of spreading infection.

To ensure your disinfectant is effective it should have achieved the following standards:

EN 1276

EN 1276 is the European test used to confirm bacterial activity and the specification states a 5-log reduction must be achieved, the equivalent of 99.999%.

The EN 1276 standard specifies a suspension test for establishing whether a chemical disinfectant or antiseptic has bactericidal activity. Bactericidal or antimicrobial products are products manufactured to control and fight against certain populations of pathogenic microorganisms. The EN 1276 standard applies to products that are used in food, industrial, domestic, and institutional areas excluding areas and situations where disinfection is medically indicated and excluding products used on living tissues except for hand hygiene (such as hydroalcoholic gels) in the food, industrial, domestic, and institutional areas.

EN16777 & EN14476

For a surface disinfectant to be effective against viruses it must comply with both EN 16777 and EN 14476 standards.

EN 16777 and EN 14476 are European tests used to confirm virucidal activity and the specification states a 4-log reduction must be achieved, the equivalent of 99.99%.

Both standards are quantitative tests for the evaluation of virucidal activity of chemical disinfectants used in medical areas against all enveloped viruses, including coronavirus.

To prevent the spread of viruses, governing bodies, and guidelines state that surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected using a two-stage process. For more information on this process please read our ‘How to Disinfect Surfaces’ blog.