by Filtering out the marketing fluff around surface disinfectants
New surface cleaners stream in for consideration, attempting to change the market or at least carve out a niche. Many times lab data is provided, always finding a test method to make the new look good. This phenomenon is witnessed most frequently for new disinfectants where kill is demonstrated and cleaning is ignored.
The best practice product producers have earned their status by consistently formulating versions that take into account target soils, use conditions, user skills and the overall risk. They build good cleaning into their disinfectants in order to deal with biofilms. The kill data for the new item might support some claims but if C.diff and persistent Listeria contaminations are to be avoided, this product better be good at penetrating and removing biofilms. A chlorinated alkaline cleaner is the likely choice, one that has several active systems that work in concert on the biofilm matrix. The alkalinity is likely joined by surfactants and oxidizers.
Think of a biofilm as a chemical-resistant shield produced by microorganisms to protect themselves. These pathogens, like Listeria, Salmonella, MRSA, Shigella and E.coli, secret film-forming polymers to extend their lives on surfaces and the opportunity to infect an unsuspecting someone, sometime.
