Disinfecting
Disinfecting a surface kills germs. While it doesn’t always remove the dirt, most disinfectants depending on the type that’s used kills up to 99.9%. As a janitorial company in Atlanta I recommend the use of Lemon All or Lemon 7. Both are great disinfectants.
Cleaning
Cleaning is the act of physically removing dirt from surfaces. While in the process of removing dirt most germs are picked up in the process but the germs are not killed from a chemical dwell time like disinfecting.
Sanitizing
Sanitizing lowers germs to a safe level as determined by public health standards. Sanitizing can be done by cleaning or disinfecting but to a certain level of germ and dirt removal.