WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CLEANING AND DISINFECTING FOR COVID-19?

Mother and Daughter in the Kitchen — Newburgh, IN — Pass Pest Control

For months, families around the country and the world have been taking extra precautions for cleaning and sanitation to better protect against the spread of COVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2. These public health measures include washing and sanitizing your hands frequently, wiping down commonly used surfaces like doorknobs, staying six feet apart (minimum), and wearing masks to stop the spread of virus-carrying droplets.

But personal measures are just that--personal. And they’re imperfect. No matter how many times you wash your hands or how carefully you keep your mask on, germs can still spread within your home. Additionally, accidents happen and unintended exposures can occur. In situations like these, it’s important to take steps to properly disinfect your home.

Areas of Your Home to Focus on While Disinfecting

There are several areas that see particularly high levels of human contact. When cleaning and disinfecting for COVID-19, pay special attention to these.

Doorknobs

A doorknob is the monarch of disease transference--so much so that door handle bacteria has its own Wikipedia page. The exterior doors of your home can be particularly guilty of this, since those are the first things you touch before coming inside to wash your hands of whatever you were doing (whether it’s grocery shopping or touching the pens at a doctor’s office). Disinfecting all door handles in your home frequently is a must.
Tables and Countertops

It’s important to frequently disinfect the surfaces on which you prepare and eat food. You don’t want bacteria to contaminate your food and thus make its way into your body. Even beyond that, tables and counters tend to be surfaces on which people lean and touch and bump into without realizing it.
Handles
It’s easy to forget how many handles of different types are in your house, but they might be even higher-touch surfaces than doorknobs. Remember to disinfect your:
- Refrigerator handle
- Microwave handle
- Oven handle
- Faucet handles
- Toilet flushers
- Shower handles
- Knobs and handles on cabinets and drawers.
Electronics

When is the last time you disinfected your phone, keyboard, or TV buttons and remote? Time once reported that your cell phone is dirtier than a toilet seat! Electronics are high-touch areas, and you probably touch your phone very frequently throughout the day, transferring germs from whatever you’re doing at that moment. Disinfect it and other electronics in your home frequently (but don’t use soap and water, for obvious reasons).

What Can You Use When Disinfecting Your Home

To properly disinfect your home, you can use any number of products. When shopping for a disinfectant, choose a multi-purpose cleaner that specifically mentions the word “disinfect” on the label. It’s also a good sign if the product mentions killing bacteria (most products advertise that they kill 99.9% of bacteria). You may want to invest in different cleaning products for different surfaces--some will be best for counters and handles, while others will be safe for use on wood. You can also create a disinfecting solution with bleach, but make sure to dilute it (a half cup of bleach per gallon of water) and don’t mix bleach with any other types of cleaning products.

Make sure that you follow the instructions on disinfectants’ labels. Many will instruct you to leave the solution on a surface for a period of time so that the chemicals have time to break down and kill bacteria.

Why Cleaning Your Home Isn’t Enough

What is the difference between cleaning and disinfecting, anyway?

Cleaning refers to the use of soap and water to remove surface debris and gunk. Think about wiping down the kitchen counters for food crumbs or vacuuming the floors for hair, dust, and dirt. While cleaning removes particles and the friction of cleaning removes some bacteria, it usually doesn’t target the microbes smaller than the eye can see.

To disinfect a surface, you need to use a product specifically labeled for that purpose. Disinfectant products are formulated to target germs and other microbes. Many disinfectant products will have a tagline boasting that they kill 99.9% of germs, or something similar to that.

Because SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19, is a virus, its particles are even smaller than bacteria. It clings to droplets, which means that transmission via surfaces is not as common as it is when an infected person comes into close contact with a healthy one. Still, disinfecting surfaces is important to remove as much risk as possible. Thoroughly disinfecting surfaces to eliminate droplets that might carry COVID-19 particles is a necessary step because cleaning with soap and water alone won’t kill the virus.

We Offer Residential and Commercial Disinfecting Services

Though you can take many measures to disinfect your home or other property on your own, you may want the additional attention to detail and peace of mind that comes with hiring a professional disinfecting service. At Pass Pest, we offer disinfecting services from trained professionals for commercial and residential spaces!

When you trust Pass Pest as your disinfecting company, you’ll receive the highest-quality disinfection possible. We use electrostatic foggers and antiviral wipes which create an antimicrobial coating on surfaces of your home. This coating, applied with the BioProtectUs™ technology, is a highly effective but safe invisible shield that’s even approved for use on food preparation surfaces. It not only eliminates current bacteria (including disinfecting for COVID-19 as well as many other bacteria and viruses) but also continues to inhibit the growth and spread of bacteria for 90 days.

Even one application of the BioProtectUs™ antimicrobial coating has been shown to eradicate COVID-19 particles on surfaces for long periods of time. The products we use are listed on the EPA’s List N--the official list of disinfectants approved to eliminate SARS-CoV-2. Yet they’re also safe for children and pets to come in contact with.

Especially now, with transmission at record highs, it’s important to take as many precautions as you can to stop the spread of COVID-19. If you’re ready to invest in professional protection from SARS-CoV-2 in your home or business, give us a call at 812-575-4244.

Get Reliable Disinfecting Services For Your Home and Business

CALL THE DISINFECTING PROFESSIONALS TODAY

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Hand holding a magnifying glass over a bed, enlarging a bee illustration near a bedroom scene

BED BUGS: What They Are, How to Identify Them and How to Eliminate The

August 19, 2026

Bed bugs are small, parasitic blood feeding insects that can a comfortable home into a very unpleasant residence. Although they are not known to transmit diseases to people, their bites can cause itching and irritation, and an infestation can be difficult to correct without a complete application. However, in larger infestations the problem can cause open wounds due to scratching that can become infected. What are Bed Bugs? Bed bugs are small, dark brown insects that feed on blood. Adult bed bugs are about the size of apple seed where younger bed bugs are about the size of a grape seed and lighter in color. They are compact insects, allowing them to hide in cracks and crevices that are about the width of a dime. Despite their name, bed bugs aren’t limited to beds. They can hide in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, couches, chairs, carpets, cracks and other areas where individuals might rest. How to Identify Them? Bed Bugs can be difficult to spot because they are good at concealing themselves. Most common indications of an infestation are: Blood stains on bedding and mattresss Small dark spots indicating bed bug droppings Small eggs or cast skins Active bedbugs around tufts in the mattress, couches, chairs and cracks and crevices Red bites that occur in lines Where do they originate from? Bed bugs are excellent travelers. Bedbugs have a claw like hook similar to a tick which makes them the ultimate hitchhiker. They can enter a home through luggage, clothing, used furniture, bedding, and other personal belongings. They may also spread between rooms or apartments through cracks and other openings as well as person to person. How do you eliminate bed bugs? A few steps to take reduce your exposure to bed bugs: Inspect used furniture before you place it into the home. Use caution when traveling- inspect head boards, mattresses and all hotel furnishing before removing your items from your suitcase. Carefully check contents of luggage when returning home. Keep rooms organized which will make inspection easier in case of infestation. If you are suspicious of an item treat it for bedbugs before you place it into your home What Do I Do if I Find Bedbugs? Don’t discard of your furniture. Moving the items around can spread the infestation and make the problem worse. Start by carefully inspecting the area where bedbugs were observed. Wash and dry bedding on the highest setting available. Vacuuming is a valuable tool in helping to control infestations but can’t eliminate bedbugs on its own. Bed bugs can conceal themselves in cracks and crevices. Professional pest management may be necessary if the infestations is well established. What to Do? Bed bugs are an unpleasant, but they are a manageable pest problem. Early detection makes treatment easier. If you suspect and problem, inspect carefully, avoid spreading potentially infested belongings and consider contacting a qualified pest control professional for an appropriate treatment plan. If you are experiencing a reoccurring bed bug problem it is likely that you are coming into contact with an infected person or infested item. The key is to act in an organized manner rather than relying on a single treatment for moving to another room. With careful inspection and the correct treatment protocol bed bugs can be eliminated. There are many types of treatments for bedbugs and all of them work to a certain extent depending on the level of infestation and the condition of the home being treated. Heat is a very common way to control bedbugs but it only has about an 80 percent success rate. High clutter and easy avenues to avoid heat impact the ability of heat treatments to be successful. Temperatures have to be maintained at a level of 140 degrees or higher for at least three hours to see optimum results. Uncontrolled heat applications that maintain heat at 150 degrees for higher can result in serious damage to furniture, wiring and belongings. Chemical applications tend to perform very well in small to medium infestations but are challenged by aggressive, more populated bed bug infestations. Cryogenic applications do an excellent job of killing bedbugs on contact but do very little in controlling hidden infestations and leave no chemical residual for long term control. Fumigation is likely the most reliable method. Performed at the proper dosage rate a variety of insects and rodents can be eliminated with fumigation. However, fumigation tends to be more expensive that other applications and leaves no residual as chemical applications will.