The cycle of disinfection

Cleaning Before and After Disinfection.

Prepare The Surface - No matter what products you're using, you should clean a surface so that dirt, debris, and greases are removed. If you don't do this first, then contaminants (viruses, bacteria, etc.) can "hide" below these. If the disinfectant can't get to the surface, it can't do its job.

Disinfect The Surface - Now you can apply your chosen disinfectant. Not all disinfectants are created equal. Even if your disinfectant says "one-step," this doesn't mean you can skip the cleaning step.
Always be sure to read your disinfectant instructions. This will tell you the "dwell time" that you should leave the disinfectant on the surface so it can do its job. Whether you're able to leave the disinfectant to air dry or are told to wipe it off after it's dwell time, disinfectants do leave some residue behind.

Cleaning Away Disinfectant Residue - Now we're back to where we started from. Before you disinfect the surface next time, you'll be preparing the surface again. But that's not all. This time you're cleaning away the disinfectant left behind from before. Disinfectant residue can lead to a host of issues:

Green Cleaning + Disinfection =
Responsible Infection Control

Finally, whenever you can, choose green cleaning products and disinfection products with favorable toxicity profiles. Especially when disinfectant use is so high, it's important to have a cleaning product that won't leave behind its own residue. You don't want to make raise the toxicity during the step where you're trying to remove it! If your goal is to clean for better health, green cleaning products are a must.