What is the difference between cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization?

What is the difference between cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization?

• A. Disinfection removes soil; sterilization eliminates all microorganisms; cleaning reduces pathogens.
• B. Sterilization removes soil; disinfection eliminates all microorganisms; cleaning reduces pathogens.
• C. Cleaning removes soil; disinfection reduces pathogens; sterilization eliminates all microorganisms.
• D. Cleaning and disinfection are the same; sterilization only for heat-tolerant items.

Answer: (C)

Cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization differ by what they remove or kill. Cleaning removes soil, dirt, and debris from surfaces using soap and water. Disinfection uses chemical agents to dramatically reduce or kill most pathogenic microorganisms on a surface, but it does not guarantee the destruction of all organisms, especially some spores. Sterilization destroys or inactivates all microorganisms, including spores, on the item. Because soil can shield microbes, cleaning is often the first step before disinfection or sterilization to ensure the agents can work effectively. The statement that matches these ideas is: cleaning removes soil; disinfection reduces pathogens; sterilization eliminates all microorganisms. The other descriptions mix up these roles—for example, implying disinfection removes soil, or that sterilization targets soil, or treating cleaning and disinfection as the same.

Cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization differ by what they remove or kill. Cleaning removes soil, dirt, and debris from surfaces using soap and water. Disinfection uses chemical agents to dramatically reduce or kill most pathogenic microorganisms on a surface, but it does not guarantee the destruction of all organisms, especially some spores. Sterilization destroys or inactivates all microorganisms, including spores, on the item. Because soil can shield microbes, cleaning is often the first step before disinfection or sterilization to ensure the agents can work effectively. The statement that matches these ideas is: cleaning removes soil; disinfection reduces pathogens; sterilization eliminates all microorganisms. The other descriptions mix up these roles—for example, implying disinfection removes soil, or that sterilization targets soil, or treating cleaning and disinfection as the same.