What is the most commonly used disinfectant?

The most commonly used disinfectant in households and many institutional settings worldwide is household bleach, sodium hypochlorite, because it is inexpensive, widely available, and effective against a broad range of bacteria, viruses, and fungi when properly diluted. In healthcare and food service, quaternary ammonium compounds, often called quats, are also extremely common in spray and wipe form for disinfecting surfaces. Alcohol-based disinfectants, particularly isopropyl alcohol and ethanol at sixty to seventy percent concentration, are among the most common for hand sanitizers and for disinfecting small surfaces and medical equipment. In water treatment, chlorine and chloramine are the most common disinfectants used to make drinking water safe. Hydrogen peroxide is also increasingly common in household and healthcare disinfectants. The most common choice depends on setting, for homes bleach and quats dominate, for hands alcohol-based sanitizers dominate, and for drinking water chlorine dominates, all because they balance effectiveness, cost, availability, and safety when used according to label directions.