Sunshine and Fresh Air
That’s right! Sunshine and fresh air are natural disinfectants. So hit the beach and open your windows. Letting sunshine and fresh air into a room will help to disinfect it. However, this method will take a very, very, long time. The science behind this was discovered during the 1918 influenza pandemic, when overflowing flu patients who were placed outside recovered faster than those patients who were inside the hospital.
Wiping
Wiping is the safest method of disinfecting and requires the least level of personal protection. After a surface is cleaned, a disinfectant wipe is an effective way to kill viruses on hard non-porous surfaces and medical equipment. When using wipes, the surface must remain moist long enough to kill the viruses. This is called dwell time. Remember to always wear gloves when using disinfectant wipes.
Spraying
Spraying allows for the rapid deployment of most disinfectants such as quaternary, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and alcohol-based chemicals. When spraying, it is important that you are not spraying near ventilation equipment and that you are wearing a respirator. If you are cleaning sensitive electronics such as a touch screen, you should spray the disinfectant on a towel first, and then wipe with it.
Fogging
Fogging is a method of spraying disinfectant through a filter that produces a fine fog like mist. The purpose is to apply disinfectant into hard to reach areas. Fogging should only be used when necessary and not in areas that will need to immediately be occupied by humans. The use of most disinfectants requires wiping and or spraying. Fogging is intended only for objects where spraying and wiping is impractical. Simply using a fogger to deploy a disinfectant may violate the EPA requirements depending on the type of disinfectant.
Electrostatic
Electrostatic disinfection is like fogging, but the chemicals pass over an electrode giving them a positive charge. This positive electrical charge helps the spray droplets stick evenly around objects (many pathogens, but not all, are naturally negative). The droplets of disinfectant evenly surround objects allowing for disinfection of difficult to clean objects.
High Efficiency Airless or HEA
High efficiency airless (HEA) method evenly disburses disinfectants and is the most effective way to ensure that dwell time standards are met. HEA sprayers pump the disinfectant through a micro sized nozzle to allow for a high volume, low pressure, atomization that is much more evenly spread compared to typical sprayers or electrostatic foggers.
Ultraviolet Type C Light
Ultraviolet Light (UV) is effective in killing microorganisms, but only the UV-C version. Regular UV light from a black light is ineffective for germicidal disinfection. There are four types of UV light: type A, B, C, and D. Type A is the kind of UV light you find in black lights and tanning beds. UV-C has a shorter wavelength (around 280 nanometers in size) making it more effective at killing tiny microbes. Therefore a UV-C light can be used for disinfection. UV-C lights are often used in operating rooms or hospital rooms. UV-C lights are dangerous and can only be used when people are not around.