What’s the Difference Between Cleaning and Hygiene?

The terms cleanliness and hygiene are often confused, but they are not the same.

Cleaning
Cleaning is the process of removing dirt, waste, or unwanted materials from a surface using detergents and equipment. It focuses on what we can see — dust, spills, or debris.

Hygiene
Hygiene is about preventing the spread of diseases. Cleaning is one part of hygiene, but it goes further by also targeting what we cannot see — harmful microorganisms.

Example:
A janitor mops the floor of a health centre with detergent, mop, and broom. This removes visible dirt (cleaning). They then apply a sanitising solution to kill microorganisms (hygiene).

In short:

• Cleaning = removes visible dirt.
• Hygiene = cleaning + disinfection to protect health.