The main difference between sanitizers and disinfectants is that sanitizers reduce the number of germs on a surface whereas disinfectants kill most of them. Sanitizers usually work faster than disinfectants, which can take up to 10 minutes to kill germs. The name hand “sanitizer” is a misnomer since its main germ-fighting ingredient is alcohol, which is a disinfectant. This article was medically reviewed by Graham Snyder, MD, MS, who is the medical director for the Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology branch at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

 

Read more…