No, I’m not referring to the wonderful food-processor found on late night infomercials, I’m referring to the singular disinfectant product that many are searching for to address ALL of their cleaning and disinfection needs – the “Magic Bullet”. By this I’m referring to the single product that kills everything and can be used on all surfaces floor to ceiling. For those of you on the hunt for such a product, boy do I have bad news for you...
Although we can certainly understand the desire for a single product from a convenience stand point, quite frankly there are far too many other parameters that will be compromised or sacrificed to gain that convenience. Allow me to explain just some of the key reasons why there remains the need for multiple products for specific applications.
Some Disinfectants are Too Aggressive for Broad Daily Use
We are more than well aware of the prevalence of C. diff and the need for sporicidal agents to effectively eradicate it from the environment. Although best practice guidelines recommend the targeted use of these products, some may wish to utilize a sporicidal agent in a more liberal manner as a preventative tool for the cleaning and disinfection of ALL hand contact surfaces throughout a facility on an ongoing basis. I’m here to simply offer some food for thought. Firstly, one must consider the fact that the chemistries required to achieve sporicidal disinfection are simply far too aggressive to utilize this broadly. The Occupational Health and Safety precautions surrounding the use of these products will be prohibitive and most likely will counteract any perceived gain in convenience from using a singular product. Likewise, because of their aggressive nature, there is a greater potential for prematurely impacting surface or device integrity with the expansive use of these products. In short, although the wide-scale use of a sporicidal agent may look good on paper, this scope of use is impractical and likely to be fraught with issues, so the targeted use of these products alongside traditional hospital grade disinfectants continues to be the preference.
No Disinfectant is Compatible With All Materials or Surfaces
In the vast environment that makes up a typical healthcare facility there are dozens, if not hundreds, of different materials that make up the devices and surfaces that require regular cleaning and disinfection. For this reason, it is essentially impossible to find a chemistry that is compatible with every single material and still be effective enough for our infection prevention needs. Just think, would you select a singular cleaning product to use on all of the surfaces around your home? I wonder how that stove cleaner would react with your leather sofa? Therefore, despite our best intentions to assimilate or amalgamate disinfectant product there will likely remain the need for specific products required for targeted tasks or surfaces.
After contemplating these key considerations, will you still embark on the search for the elusive “Magic Bullet” disinfectant?
