THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOME DISINFECTANTS AND DETERGENTS AGAINST MICROBIAL ACTIVITY

The ability of eight cleaning products to inhibit microbial, especiall y fungal, growth was investigated in laboratory experiments. The disin fectant based on sodium hypochlorite and the glycol-containing deterge nt provided the best biocidal effect, preventing microbial activity co mpletely on dusty sheet metal and inhibiting microbial growth signific antly on wallpaper. The other chlorine-releasing product also proved t o be a quite effective disinfectant. On the other hand, the effectiven ess of the products containing different alcohols and quaternary ammon ium compounds remained relatively low, because their durability decrea sed noticeably with time. The phosphate-based detergent had practicall y no inhibitory effect on microbial activity. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scienc e Ltd.