How does sunlight kill germs and how much is needed?
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By drying them out, though it’s a bit more complicated than that.
Most have countermeasures to avoid drying out, such as cell walls and producing mucus to retain water. If left out too long, their mucus will dry out, or the proteins making up their cell walls will eventually decay.
Cleaning products tend to break up cell walls and mucus, either outright killing the germs or making them more likely to dry out. Different surfaces also hold moisture differently. A “hard surface” such as a metal table or hard plastic container tend to be the worst at holding moisture, so germs have a harder time lasting on those. This is why the CDC and other health organizations warn us about how long a germ can survive on a hard surface.
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