Wednesday's Ask the Experts: Dwell times

December 22, 2010

Wednesday''s Ask the Experts question from a cleaning professional on the International Custodial Advisors Network (ICAN) "Ask the Experts" page: Is there any chemical that has a killing contact time of three minutes or less?

The answer:

Certainly, but it depends on what you are killing. Here are some recommended dwell times for common disinfectants.

Sodium hypochlorite (bleach): Dwell time – 5-10 minutes

Phenols/chlorinated phenols: Dwell time – Generally 10 minutes

Quaternary ammonium compounds (Quats): Dwell time – Generally 10 minutes

Silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC): Dwell time – 30 seconds to 10 minutes

You may note that ... — Lynn E Krafft, ICAN/ATEX editor

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