Editing Hygiene (section)

===Disinfectants and antibacterials in home hygiene===
{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2022}}

[[disinfectant|Chemical disinfectants]]<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web|title=Cleaning and disinfection: Chemical Disinfectants Explained|year=2014|url=https://www.ifh-homehygiene.org/factsheet/cleaning-and-disinfection-chemical-disinfectants-explained|website=Home Hygiene & Health}}
|2={{Cite book|title=Russell, Hugo & Ayliffe's principles and practice of disinfection, preservation and sterilization|year=2013|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |editor-first1=Adam P.|editor-last1= Fraise |editor-first2=J.Y.|editor-last2=Maillard |editor-first3=Syed |editor-last3=Sattar|isbn=978-1-118-42587-9|edition=5th |location=Chichester|oclc=825550689}}
}}</ref> are products that kill [[pathogens]]. If the product is a disinfectant, the label on the product should say "disinfectant" or "kills" pathogens. Some commercial products, e.g. bleaches, even though they are technically disinfectants, say that they "kill pathogens" but are not actually labelled as "disinfectants". Not all disinfectants kill all types of pathogens. All disinfectants kill bacteria (called bactericidal). Some also kill fungi (fungicidal), bacterial spores (sporicidal), or viruses (virucidal).

An [[antibacterial soap|antibacterial]] product acts against bacteria in some unspecified way. Some products labelled "antibacterial" kill bacteria while others may contain a concentration of active ingredient that only prevents them from multiplying. It is, therefore, important to check whether the product label states that it "kills bacteria". An antibacterial is not necessarily anti-fungal or anti-viral unless this is stated on the label.

The term [[disinfection|sanitizer]] has been used to define substances that both clean and disinfect. More recently this term has been applied to alcohol-based products that disinfect the hands ([[hand sanitizer|alcohol hand sanitizers]]). Alcohol hand sanitizers however are not considered to be effective on soiled hands.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pickering|first1=Amy J.|last2=Davis|first2=Jennifer|last3=Boehm|first3=Alexandria B.|date=2011-09-01|title=Efficacy of alcohol-based hand sanitizer on hands soiled with dirt and cooking oil|url=https://iwaponline.com/jwh/article/9/3/429/19807/Efficacy-of-alcoholbased-hand-sanitizer-on-hands|journal=Journal of Water and Health|language=en|volume=9|issue=3|pages=429–433|doi=10.2166/wh.2011.138|pmid=21976190 |s2cid=11800640 |issn=1477-8920|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The term [[biocide]] is a broad term for a substance that kills, inactivates or otherwise controls living organisms. It includes [[antiseptics]] and disinfectants, which combat micro-organisms, and [[pesticides]].