Title: Difference between cleanliness and hygiene
Course: Hygiene and Environmental Health Part 1 - Ethiopia (Full)

Difference between cleanliness and hygiene

The term cleanliness should not be used in place of hygiene. Cleaning in many cases is removing dirt, wastes or unwanted things from the surface of objects using detergents and necessary equipment. Hygiene practice focuses on the prevention of diseases through the use of cleaning as one of several inputs. For example, a janitor cleans the floor of a health centre using detergent, mop and broom. They might also use chlorine solution to disinfect the floor. The cleaning process in this example is the removal of visible dirt, while the use of chlorine solution removes the invisible microorganisms. Hygienic practice encompasses both cleaning for the removal of physically observable matters and the use of chlorine for the removal of microorganisms. The hygiene practice in this example aims at preventing the spread of disease-causing organisms. Cleaning is a means to achieve this task.