How clean is clean? People wash their cars and vacuum the carpets, but most would not want to eat from these surfaces. Similarly, we might eat with silverware cleaned in a dishwasher, but we could not...How clean is clean? People wash their cars and vacuum the carpets, but most would not want to eat from these surfaces. Similarly, we might eat with silverware cleaned in a dishwasher, but we could not use the same dishwasher to clean surgical instruments. As these examples illustrate, “clean” is a relative term. Car washing, vacuuming, and dishwashing all reduce the microbial load on the items treated, thus making them “cleaner.” But whether they are “clean enough” depends on their intended use.
