From LinkedIn, Scott Armour, MS:  "One of the small findings in our study was that water, plain water, did a great job at reducing ATP load, it actually produced the largest percent of reduction, compared to standard cleaners. However, it couldn't get to the lowest point. We were using only microfiber cloth and solution to clean; no steam or even heat. The conclusion was the ability to remove gross dirt rather than disinfect, which the chems did better on the cleaner surfaces (less dirt to interfere with action).  This is not mean to be support of chems, just our observations.  Note: this was a very limited field study, small, but carefully planned and executed, with proper controls."

What is ATP?  Adenosine triphosphate, a chemical that is produced in every living cell.  What Scott is referring to is cleaning a surface with a chemical disinfectant and cleaning another surface with just plain water, then measuring the ATP left on the surface.  Measuring ATP is an indirect method of determining how much bacteria is left on the surface.  It's an industry standard method of testing the cleanliness of a surface (usually used in hospitals, schools and other institutional environments).

What does it mean?  It means that just plain water and a clean cloth is your go to workhorse for the majority of your cleaning when your concern is removing bacteria. 

How would I implement this into my own cleaning routine?  Buy a bunch of microfiber cloths and a spray bottle.  Just put normal tap water into your spray bottle to clean with.  Do most of your cleaning this way.  Keep track of what parts of your cloth are used and keep turning it to get to a fresh spot.  As soon as all of its surface has been used, put it in the laundry and go to a clean cloth.  Wash your cloths right away so they don't become a place for the bacteria you just wiped off the toilet to grow.  While you clean, carry a simple degreaser (10 drops of dish soap in a spray bottle of water will work) and a glass cleaner (2 drops of dish soap in a spray bottle of water).  Now you're 100% covered.  Simple and inexpensive.

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