---
title: Dwell Time Disease
description: Dwell Time Disease
---

<https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources>

# [Dwell Time Disease](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2016/08/dwell-time-disease_5.html)

 Written by [Nicole Kenny](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/author/nicole-kenny) | Aug 5, 2016 4:09:00 PM

<http://static1.squarespace.com/static/595689fc9de4bbc892200518/t/59568ac85fd63b5f292875fd/1498845374082//img.png.com/static/595689fc9de4bbc892200518/t/59568ac85fd63b5f292875fe/1498843848471/1000w/>

This week is our 4 th  and final pillar from our [Disinfection Dysfunction](https://info.virox.com/disinfection_dysfunction)   
 education campaign.   If you answered yes  
 to any of the questions we posed in the [Label  
 Deficit Disorder](http://talkcleantome.blogspot.ca/2016/07/label-deficit-disorder.html) , [Safety  
 Indifference Syndrome](http://talkcleantome.blogspot.ca/2016/07/safety-indifference-syndrome.html) , and [Cross  
 Contamination Conundrum](http://talkcleantome.blogspot.ca/2016/06/cross-contamination-conundrum.html)  blogs your product might just have Disinfection  
 Dysfunction!   Shall we find out if your  
 disinfectant has Dwell Time Disease?

In recent years, we have put a great focus on the contact  
 time or dwell time of a disinfectant product.   
 I could go on ad nauseam about contact time citing numerous examples of  
 why rapid contact times are important, but I think Drs. Rutala and Weber summed  
 it up nicely in their “[Selection  
 of an Ideal Disinfectant](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24915214)” article with their statement *"fast kill times are important because they give you confidence  
 that you are killing the prevalent and most common healthcare-associated  
 pathogens before the disinfectant solution can dry".* If you want to read more on this  
 topic, our “[Dirty  
 to Disinfected in 60 Seconds Flat!](http://talkcleantome.blogspot.ca/2011/06/dirty-to-disinfected-in-60-seconds-flat.html)” will give you more background.  To see the validated results on this topic, [a  
 study looking at the efficacy](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/hs-fs/file-484366572-pdf/Surfaces-PRS/EfficacyHP.pdf?t=1469641610767) of Improved Hydrogen Peroxide (IHP) products  
 versus a Quaternary Ammonium Compound (QUATs) showing that IHP products kill  
 more in a shorter period of time – something that is definitely relevant for  
 any facility needing to kill germs!

Why has this become relevant?  As we see with many auditors during their observations  
 of current wipe disinfection practices in busy healthcare facilities, surfaces  
 tend to be wiped once and then left to air dry. We talked about this in detail  
 in our “[Premature  
 Evaporation – Is your disinfectant fulfilling your every desire?](http://talkcleantome.blogspot.ca/2011/08/premature-evaporation-is-your.html)” blog so I  
 won’t repeat again.  But if I can direct  
 you to [a  
 study that tested dry times against  
 label contact times](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/hs-fs/file-486365680-pdf/Surfaces-PRS/Theory.pdf) <https://www.blogger.com/null> ,  
 only one disinfectant technology achieved the requisite wet time using this  
 approach. In all other cases, the disinfectant dissipated or evaporated short  
 of the contact time indicated on the label, requiring re-application (in some  
 cases multiple re-applications) in order to achieve compliance.  If your wipe disinfection practice does not  
 include multiple applications to achieve the requisite wet times, you may be  
 leaving your healthcare facility open to HAIs.  

Ask yourself “Does your disinfectant dry before it’s time?”

*Bugging Off!*

Nicole

[View full post](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2016/08/dwell-time-disease_5.html)

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