Simply put: Because it does so much more, and does it so much better, in less time, with less effort, for less money, and without the safety concerns that are so common with other cleaners, disinfectants, deodorizers, or any of the many other products CLEAN replaces.

The short answer is it is ready to use out of the bottle, or may be diluted. It depends on what you are using it for. For instructions on specific usage scenarios, please read CLEAN’s Directions for Use.

The full answer is that PermaSafe CLEAN is a Ready to Use (“RTU”) EPA Registered, Broad-Spectrum, Tuberculocidal Hospital Disinfectant Cleaner; Heavy Duty Surface & Air Odor Eliminator; Mold, Mildew and Fungi Killer; and Allergen Remover … that can be diluted down for sanitization purposes.

While often used interchangeably, the words “Sanitize” and “Disinfect” have very different, and very precise meanings. 

• Sanitizing is the act of reducing the number of germs on a surface to a level considered safe by public health codes, through the use of a “Sanitizer.” Sanitizers are EPA registered antimicrobial products that are proven to safely and effectively reduce the quantity of microorganisms on inanimate surfaces. The EPA stipulates that Non-Food Contact Sanitizers must eliminate no less than 99.9% of harmful bacteria on Hard surfaces within 10 minutes, while Food Contact Sanitizers must eliminate no less than 99.999% of harmful bacteria on Hard surfaces within 60 seconds. Note that Sanitizers are not required to kill viruses. CLEAN becomes a Hard, Soft, and Food Contact Sanitizer when diluted 1 part CLEAN with 9 parts tap water. 
• Disinfecting is the act of eliminating the majority of germs on inanimate surfaces through the use of a Disinfectant. Disinfectants are EPA registered antimicrobial products that are required, and have been proven to eliminate at least 99.9% of both bacteria and viruses on Hard surfaces.

So, which should you do, and when? “Sanitized” signifies a surface that is clean and largely germ-free. It’s also the FDA, USDA, and nationwide Public Health standard for the food production, food service, and restaurant industries. In other words, it’s a very high level of cleanliness and germ reduction, and one that likely exceeds the needs and expectations of most people and organizations.

However, there are numerous surfaces that should always be disinfected, and various environmental conditions that can make disinfection necessary for many others. Disinfection should always be the goal for Hard, High-Contact Surfaces such as light switches, doorknobs; countertops; desktops & drawer pulls; kitchen and bathroom cabinet handles; sinks and toilets. Disinfection is also a must for Hard Surfaces in medical settings, as well as in any home, workplace or other space during a pandemic or when someone is ill, illness prone, or has a compromised immune system. 

Please read CLEAN’s Directions for Use for more information and specific usage scenarios.

As is required of all antimicrobial products before they can be offered for sale in the U.S., CLEAN is registered with the EPA, the government agency that regulates and enforces Federal Laws regarding antimicrobial products. To qualify for an EPA registration, an antimicrobial must undergo extensive, certified testing to prove it performs as stated on its labels and meets the EPA's stringent health, safety, and germicidal performance standards. Failing to consistently comply with these standards can lead to registration suspension, fines, or for serious violators, even property seizures or arrest. Learn more about how the EPA regulates antimicrobial products.

CLEAN is the perfect product for cleaning, disinfecting, deodorizing, and just about every other household hygiene task. From disinfecting bathrooms, to cleaning and sanitizing windows, carpets, curtains and kitchens, as well as just about every other surface and thing in your home, CLEAN has you covered. Need to remove musty odors from your basement, garage or HVAC system? Have a mold or mildew problem, or simply wish to prevent one? You name the surface or space, and CLEAN can help!

Cleaning is the process of physically removing visible soils, grime and other contamination from a surface, and is typically accomplished with the use of a cloth, sponge or similar implement in conjunction with soap or detergent and water. Cleaning alone does not kill bacteria, viruses or other microorganisms, but will often remove a portion of them.
 
Sanitizing is the act of reducing the number of germs on surfaces to levels considered safe by public health codes. Sanitizing, or sanitized, is also an EPA Antimicrobial Standard that stipulates the elimination of at least 99.9% of harmful bacteria, but does not require or include the elimination of viruses.  
 
Disinfecting or disinfected is an EPA Antimicrobial Standard that stipulates the elimination of at least 99.9% of both bacteria and viruses.

“Sanitized” signifies a surface that is clean and mostly germ-free. It’s also the FDA, USDA and nationwide Public Health standard for the food production, food service and restaurant industries. In other words, it’s about as high a level of cleanliness and germ reduction as most people and surfaces will typically require.
 
However, disinfection should be the goal for hard, high-contact surfaces such as light switches, doorknobs; countertops; desktops & drawer pulls; kitchen and bathroom cabinet handles; sinks and toilets; and all hard surfaces in medical settings, as well as in any home, workplace or other space during a pandemic, or when someone is ill, illness prone, or has a compromised immune system. More surfaces to disinfect.

As part of the EPA’s antimicrobial evaluation and registration process, tested disinfectants are classified into three distinctly separate categories: Limited, General, and Hospital. All three categories of disinfectants eliminate or irreversibly inactivate certain microorganisms, but some are effective against more than others. 

• Limited: A disinfectant that has proven effective against either Salmonella Cholerasuis or Staphylococcus Aureus.
  
• General: A disinfectant that has proven effective against both Salmonella Cholerasuis and Staphylococcus Aureus.
  
• Hospital: A disinfectant that has proven effective against each of Salmonella Cholerasuis, Staphylococcus Aureus, and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, a substantially more difficult to eliminate microorganism.

A Broad-Spectrum Disinfectant is a Hospital Disinfectant that has proven effective against all three of the major classes of organisms:

• Bacteria: Must be effective against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
• Fungi: Must be effective against at least one pathogenic fungi (usually Trichophyton Mentagrophytes).
• Viruses: Must be effective against at least one enveloped virus, such as Influenza A, and one non-enveloped virus, such as Adenovirus.

Effective against many more microorganisms than the EPA requires for a Hospital Disinfectant to be labeled as “Broad Spectrum,” CLEAN is also “Tuberculocidal,” a designation reserved for Hospital Disinfectants that have proven effective against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, a notoriously difficult to eliminate pathogen. Tuberculocidal is also an antimicrobial benchmark that signifies an advanced level disinfectant with considerably higher germicidal potency that’s effective against a much broader range of pathogens, including such antimicrobial resistant ones as Hepatitis A, B & C, MRSA, Clostridium Difficile, Norovirus, Adenovirus, Poliovirus and others. The CDC designates Hospital Disinfectants without a Tuberculocidal Claim as a Low-Level Disinfectants, and Hospital Disinfectant with a Tuberculocidal Claim as an Intermediate-Level, the highest level any disinfectant cleaner can achieve.

A Tuberculocidal Disinfectant is a Hospital Disinfectant that has proven effectiveness against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (See above FAQ).

Yes, in fact, CLEAN can accomplish up to three hygienic tasks simultaneously, for example, it can clean, disinfect and deodorize in one simple, “Spray and Walk Away” application. However, to accomplish disinfection, the surface must be free of visible dirt and grime prior to application. All PermaSafe antimicrobial products are EPA tested with a 5% organic soil load on the surface to simulate real world use. Like all disinfectants, CLEAN must make contact with a target surface to be effective. So, under lightly soiled conditions, it will clean and disinfect (and more) in one step. However, for dirtier surfaces, a pre-cleaning step is required.

Yes! And to illustrate just how much, consider that a 6” X 6” area of the average office desktop is home to over 100,000 bacteria. Eliminate 99.9% of them and you’re left with over 100 survivors ... many more than anyone could hope to avoid contact within such a small area. Even killing 99.99% of them will leave a double-digit population. However, eliminate 99.999% of those bacteria, the proven and EPA recognized kill ratio CLEAN delivers on hard surfaces, and their number plummets to one single microbe ... a kill ratio that’s 100 times more effective than most disinfectants can claim, and one that virtually eliminates any chance of someone contracting an infectious disease from it.

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A Food Contact Sanitizer, or Food Contact Surface Sanitizer, must eliminate 99.999% of bacteria (minimally Staphylococcus Aureus and Escherichia Coli) within 60 seconds. No post-application rinsing is required.
 
A Non-Food Contact Sanitizer must eliminate at least 99.9% of bacteria (minimally Staphylococcus Aureus and Klebsiella Pneumoniae or Enterobacter Aerogenes) within 5 minutes.

Yes.CLEAN is EPA Registered, FDA Approved, USDA Compliant, and NSF International Certified as a “Category D2, No Rinse Required on Food Contact Surfaces Sanitizer.” In other words, it’s the perfect Food Surface Sanitizer for cleaning and controlling bacteria and other microorganisms on food contact surfaces throughout commercial and residential kitchens.

“No Rinse Required on Food Contact Surfaces” is a safety certification that’s awarded by NSF International (National Sanitation Foundation) to antimicrobial products that have proven compliant with their food safety standards. An NSF No Rinse Required rating means once CLEAN has been applied as directed to cookware, glassware, utensils, or other food contact items, simply allow the items to air dry, and they’re ready to use … no rinsing or wiping is needed.

A Soft Surface Sanitizer is a sanitizer that kills no less than 99.9% of harmful bacteria on “soft, porous surfaces,” which includes many of the items and surfaces most of us are in almost constant contact with, such as carpeting, curtains, upholstered furniture, car interiors, bedding, clothing, footwear, and other fabrics and textiles. Compare antimicrobial product labels and you’ll see that CLEAN is one of the very few antimicrobial products that is effective on Soft Surfaces.

If purchased in our 3oz or 32oz spray bottles, it’s ready to go as received. Otherwise, our EPA approved application methods include trigger sprayers, hand pump sprayers, mechanical spray devices, electric airless and compression sprayers, auto scrubbers, electric mist generators, electric foggers, ULV foggers, electrostatic foggers, and by immersion, in combination with microfiber or other non-linting cloths, mops, sponges, brushes and rollers. For more information, see CLEANS’s Directions for Use.

While it’s tough to beat our 3oz or 32oz spray bottles for most common household uses, the fastest, most efficient and economical application method for more sizable cleaning, disinfection, mold remediation and similar jobs (schools, gyms, hospitals, entire homes, and other large spaces), is fogging. Utilizing a properly sized ULV or Electrostatic Fogger can reduce application times by as much as 80%, while increasing coverage rate per gallon of CLEAN by a whopping 900%. Learn More.

No PPE is required when applying CLEAN, however, we do recommend the use of appropriate PPE when treating large areas with a ULV or Electrostatic Fogger.

CLEAN is one of the very few disinfectants to earn a “Category IV” rating for toxicity from the EPA. Category IV is the very lowest toxicity rating any antimicrobial product can be awarded, and one that equates to “virtually non-toxic and not an irritant.” It also means no gloves, masks, or other personal protection equipment are necessary when applying CLEAN, no wiping or rinsing is required after it’s applied, even on Food Contact Surfaces, and no Precautionary Statements or Hazard Warnings are required on its labels.

Yes. CLEAN contains no harsh or hazardous ingredients, no CFC’s, VOC’s, enzymes, phosphates, added dyes or fragrances. It’s also certified food surface safe, 100% biodegradable, hypoallergenic, has a pH of 8-9, is non-corrosive, non-abrasive, EPA rated “Category IV” for toxicity, and in the environment breaks down to simple salt and produces no harmful by-products. Learn More.

Generally speaking, CLEAN will not stain any surface that plain water won’t stain. However, there have been occasional cases over the years when CLEAN may have discolored certain fabrics, specifically cotton cloth. Therefore, we recommend to always test fabrics for discoloration, in a small inconspicuous spot, before applying CLEAN to the entire surface. 

Yes, CLEAN is safe for use with septic tanks.

Store CLEAN in its original, closed container in a cool, dry place, away from heat and open flame. Avoid prolonged storage in temperatures above 90°F (32°C), as this could decrease its effectiveness.