Home ​​​​>​​​​ Knowledge Center​​​​

What is the contact time of disinfectants for viruses?

A disinfection product needs a certain contact time to work effectively. One product has a longer contact time than another. Not only does contact time differ between disinfectants, it differs per organism to be killed as well. Killing off viruses especially requires longer disinfectant contact time.
Disinfectant for viruses
Jasper Verhoeven
Product specialist Hygiene & Disinfection | Febuary 2, 2019 | 4 min. reading time

What are disinfectants?

Disinfectants help you kill, inactivate or remove pathogenic organisms such as bacteria and viruses. By combating the micro-organisms, they cannot spread any further. Disinfection should take place immediately after cleaning a surface. 

Capsid

A virus has a casing which is called a capsid. The virus’ genetic material is contains within the capsid. When this genetic material leaves the capsid other cell can be infected by the virus. The capsid thus forms a protective layer for the actual virus. For the disinfectant to deactivate the virus it needs to penetrate the capsid.
Capsid

Killing off

Bacteria don’t have capsids, so the disinfectant has to only penetrate the cell wall to kill off the bacteria. This is much simpler and therefore faster than penetrating the capsid. This is why disinfectants need a longer contact time to kill off viruses than it does bacteria. This is also why alcohol hand wash is perfectly capable of quickly destroying bacteria, but does not have a long enough contact time to kill off viruses effectively. Many products that work aggressively, but for a short time (like hydrogen peroxide or chlorine) lose their power to rapidly to annihilate viruses effectively. That’s when products that have long contact times and are long lasting, consider Menno florades.
Related products
Contact form
Can't find your answer? Fill out the contact form and our specialist Jasper Verhoeven will get back to you. On weekdays, even within 24 hours.

What is the contact time of disinfectants for viruses?

A disinfection product needs a certain contact time to work effectively. One product has a longer contact time than another. Not only does contact time differ between disinfectants, it differs per organism to be killed as well. Killing off viruses especially requires longer disinfectant contact time.
Search in the Knowledge Center
​​​​​​​​Find answers to your question in our Knowledge Center. 600+ articles, written by our specialists.​​​​
Categories:
Jasper Verhoeven
Jasper Verhoeven
Product specialist Hygiene & Disinfection | Febuary 2, 2019 | 4 min. reading time
Share this article
Disinfectant for viruses

What are disinfectants?

Disinfectants help you kill, inactivate or remove pathogenic organisms such as bacteria and viruses. By combating the micro-organisms, they cannot spread any further. Disinfection should take place immediately after cleaning a surface. 

Capsid

A virus has a casing which is called a capsid. The virus’ genetic material is contains within the capsid. When this genetic material leaves the capsid other cell can be infected by the virus. The capsid thus forms a protective layer for the actual virus. For the disinfectant to deactivate the virus it needs to penetrate the capsid.
Capsid

Killing off

Bacteria don’t have capsids, so the disinfectant has to only penetrate the cell wall to kill off the bacteria. This is much simpler and therefore faster than penetrating the capsid. This is why disinfectants need a longer contact time to kill off viruses than it does bacteria. This is also why alcohol hand wash is perfectly capable of quickly destroying bacteria, but does not have a long enough contact time to kill off viruses effectively. Many products that work aggressively, but for a short time (like hydrogen peroxide or chlorine) lose their power to rapidly to annihilate viruses effectively. That’s when products that have long contact times and are long lasting, consider Menno florades.
Related products
Contact form
Can't find your answer? Fill out the contact form and our specialist Jasper Verhoeven will get back to you. On weekdays, even within 24 hours.
Jasper Verhoeven
Also interesting for you
Hygiene protocols for horticulture
Hygiene is a very important issue in horticulture: by using various hygiene measures to prevent any diseases and pests from staying in the greenhouse, you ensure that the new crop will not be contaminated again.
Which are the resistance groups of crop protection agents?
Crop protection agents are subdivided in different resistance groups. A resistance group is a group of crop protection agents that function similarly.

Tips for working safely with crop protection agents
In order to be able to safely work with crop protection agents, you should know what you are doing and be informed about the possible risks. For that reason, we will list a number of dos and don'ts for the usage of crop protection agents.