Reading time: 8 minutes  |  Updated: 2026  |  Relevant to: Facility Managers, Procurement, Operations, Financial Decision-Makers

QUICK ANSWER: Cost-per-use for a disinfecting product is the total cost of cleaning one surface one time, including product, labour, and any secondary materials required. For wipes, the calculation is straightforward: cost per wipe divided by surfaces cleaned per wipe, plus labour time per surface multiplied by the labour rate. Liquid concentrate calculations require additional steps to account for dilution ratios, spray and cloth materials, and the longer labour time typically required per surface. When all inputs are included, wipes are frequently competitive with or less expensive than liquid concentrate programs on a true per-surface basis.

Why Cost-Per-Use Is the Right Metric and Purchase Price Is Not

A common mistake in disinfecting product procurement is comparing purchase price without comparing what that price actually delivers per surface cleaned. A litre of liquid concentrate priced at twelve dollars sounds dramatically cheaper than a case of wipes priced at fifty-eight dollars. Until you run the numbers.

Purchase price comparisons ignore three critical variables that determine real program cost:

• Labour time per surface: Liquid concentrate programs require staff to spray, spread, wait for dwell time, and wipe dry. Each step takes time, and labour is usually the largest cost in a cleaning program. Wipes combine application and wiping into one step.

• Secondary materials: Liquid concentrate requires disposable cloths, paper towels, or reusable microfibre to apply and remove the product. These materials carry a real cost that is often left out of concentrate price comparisons.

• Substrate failure rate: Low-quality wipes break during use, require double applications, and inflate real per-surface cost. A wipe that breaks half the time means two wipes per completed surface on average, which doubles your product cost per surface relative to its listed price.

True cost-per-use analysis accounts for all three. The worksheets below provide a structured approach to calculating it for both product types.

Cost-Per-Use Worksheet: Commercial Disinfecting Wipes

Use the following worksheet to calculate the true cost per surface cleaned using a commercial disinfecting wipe program, so you can compare it with liquid concentrate on the same basis. Fill in the values specific to your facility, your supplier pricing, and your labour rates.

Input	Notes	Example Value
Cost per case (CAD)	From your supplier quote	e.g. $58.00
Number of wipes per case	From the product spec sheet	e.g. 900 wipes
Cost per wipe	= Cost per case divided by wipes per case	e.g. $0.064
Wipes used per surface cleaned	Observe a cleaning cycle	e.g. 1 for small surfaces; 2 for larger surfaces
Cost per surface cleaned (product only)	= Cost per wipe x wipes per surface	e.g. $0.064 to $0.129
Labour time per surface (minutes)	Observe and record	e.g. 0.25 to 0.5 min per surface
Labour cost per minute (CAD)	= Hourly wage divided by 60	e.g. $22/hr = $0.367/min
Labour cost per surface	= Labour time x labour cost per minute	e.g. $0.092 to $0.183
Total cost per surface cleaned	= Product cost + labour cost	e.g. $0.156 to $0.312
Surfaces cleaned per shift	Record or estimate based on facility size and protocol
Total daily cost (product + labour)	= Total cost per surface x surfaces per shift

Core Formula: Wipes Cost per wipe = Case price / wipes per case Product cost per surface = Cost per wipe x wipes per surface Labour cost per surface = Labour time (min) x (hourly wage / 60) = Total cost per surface cleaned

SUBSTRATE FAILURE ADJUSTMENT: If your current wipe product breaks, tears, or runs dry before completing a surface, you are using more than one wipe per surface on average. Before calculating cost per surface, determine your actual wipes-per-surface figure by observing a cleaning cycle. If staff regularly use two wipes where one should suffice, double your product cost input in the worksheet. This single adjustment often reveals that a lower-listed-price wipe is more expensive in practice than a higher-quality commercial-grade product with a lower failure rate.

Cost-Per-Use Worksheet: Liquid Concentrate Disinfectant

Liquid concentrate programs have more input variables than wipe programs. The worksheet below captures the full cost structure. Pay particular attention to the labour time per surface input, as this is where liquid concentrate programs most frequently underperform their perceived cost advantage.

Input	Notes	Example Value
Cost per litre of concentrate (CAD)	From your supplier quote	e.g. $12.00/L
Dilution ratio	From the product label	e.g. 1:64 (1 part concentrate to 64 parts water)
Litres of ready-to-use solution per litre of concentrate	= Dilution ratio + 1	e.g. 65 litres RTU per litre concentrate
Cost per litre of RTU solution	= Cost per litre concentrate divided by RTU litres	e.g. $0.185/L
Millilitres of RTU solution per surface application	Estimate based on your spray and wipe method	e.g. 10 mL
Product cost per surface	= mL per surface x (cost per litre divided by 1000)	e.g. $0.00185
Labour time per surface (minutes)	Includes spray, spread, dwell wait, and wipe dry; observe and record	e.g. 0.5 to 1.5 min
Labour cost per minute (CAD)	= Hourly wage divided by 60	e.g. $22/hr = $0.367/min
Labour cost per surface	= Labour time x labour cost per minute	e.g. $0.183 to $0.550
Disposable cloth or paper cost per surface	Often overlooked; from your supplier pricing	e.g. $0.03 to $0.12 per cloth application
Total cost per surface cleaned	= Product + labour + disposable material cost
Surfaces cleaned per shift	Record or estimate
Total daily cost (product + labour + materials)	= Total cost per surface x surfaces per shift

Core Formula: Liquid Concentrate: RTU litres per litre concentrate = dilution ratio + 1 Cost per litre RTU = concentrate cost per litre / RTU litres Product cost per surface = (mL per surface / 1000) x cost per litre RTU Labour cost per surface = labour time (min) x (hourly wage / 60) Material cost per surface = cloth or paper cost per application = Total cost per surface cleaned

THE DWELL TIME LABOUR TRAP: Liquid concentrate programs require staff to wait during dwell time before wiping surfaces dry. In a properly executed protocol, staff must return to each surface after the full contact time to wipe it dry, which adds sequencing and handling time that varies by product and target pathogen. Staff who do not wait, or who wipe surfaces dry before dwell time elapses, are not achieving the kill claim. Facilities that enforce dwell time compliance with liquid programs carry a real additional labour cost that is rarely captured in product cost comparisons. Include it.

The Full Cost Comparison: What Most Analyses Miss

The worksheets above capture the primary cost variables. The table below documents the additional factors that are frequently omitted from concentrate-vs-wipes comparisons, and how each one typically affects the outcome.

Cost Factor	Wipes	Liquid Concentrate
Product cost per surface	Straightforward. Cost per wipe x wipes used.	Requires dilution ratio calculation. Often underestimated when concentrate pricing is used without accounting for RTU volume.
Labour time per surface	Lower. Single step: wipe and move. No spray, spread, or separate dry step; a well-saturated wipe keeps the surface wet for the contact time while staff move on; re-wipe if it dries early.	Higher. Multiple steps: spray, spread, wait for dwell, wipe dry. Dwell time enforcement adds significant time.
Secondary materials	None. Wipe is self-contained.	Disposable cloths, paper towels, or reusable microfibre required. Cost often excluded from concentrate comparisons.
Dispensing equipment	Low. Canisters and bucket or roll dispensers are low-cost.	Higher. Spray bottles, dilution stations, and microfibre laundry systems carry capital and maintenance costs.
Substrate failure and product waste	Relevant. Poor quality wipes break, require double applications, and inflate real cost-per-use. Quality substrate matters.	Less relevant but over-spraying and saturated cloth waste are common and add to real product cost.
Spill and contamination risk	Minimal. Self-contained format eliminates spray drift and splash.	Present. Spray application in clinical or food environments carries contamination risk and requires protocol controls.
Storage and handling	Simple. No mixing, no dilution error risk, no chemical exposure during preparation.	More complex. Dilution errors affect efficacy and safety. Concentrate storage requires chemical safety measures.
Compliance documentation burden	Lower. Product is self-contained with fixed formulation.	Higher. Dilution ratios must be verified, equipment calibrated, and staff trained on preparation protocols.

A Worked Example: 200-Surface Daily Protocol

To illustrate how the numbers play out in a real facility context, consider a cleaning contractor servicing a general commercial office with a daily protocol covering 200 high-touch surfaces.

Wipe Program Inputs

• Wipe case price: $58.00 for 900 wipes

• Cost per wipe: $0.064

• Wipes per surface: 1 (commercial-grade substrate, no breakage)

• Labour time per surface: 0.3 minutes

• Labour rate: $22.00 per hour ($0.367 per minute)

Wipe Program: Cost Per Surface: Product cost: $0.064 Labour cost: 0.3 min x $0.367 = $0.110 Total cost per surface: $0.174 Daily cost for 200 surfaces: $34.80

Liquid Concentrate Program Inputs

• Concentrate cost: $12.00 per litre

• Dilution ratio: 1:64 (65 litres RTU per litre concentrate)

• RTU cost per litre: $0.185

• Product applied per surface: 10 mL

• Product cost per surface: $0.00185

• Labour time per surface: 0.75 minutes of hands-on time (spray, spread, return to wipe dry after the label contact time; staff work other surfaces while they wait)

• Labour rate: $22.00 per hour ($0.367 per minute)

• Cloth cost per surface: $0.06 (disposable wipe cloth)

Liquid Concentrate Program, Cost Per Surface: Product cost: $0.002 Labour cost: 0.75 min x $0.367 = $0.275 Cloth material cost: $0.060 Total cost per surface: $0.337 Daily cost for 200 surfaces: $67.40

THE RESULT IN THIS EXAMPLE: The commercial wipe program costs $34.80 per day to clean 200 surfaces. The liquid concentrate program costs $67.40 for the same scope. The concentrate’s lower product cost per surface ($0.002 vs. $0.064) is more than offset by the higher labour time and secondary material costs. Labour tends to drive the result in high-frequency cleaning protocols like this one. Facilities with lower labour costs or very large surfaces may see different results. The worksheets above allow you to input your specific figures.

When Liquid Concentrate Is the Right Choice

A complete cost analysis is not an argument that wipes always win. There are legitimate scenarios where liquid concentrate programs are the more economical choice:

• Very large surface areas where the volume of product required per surface is high and wipe coverage per unit is limiting

• Facilities with extremely low labour costs relative to product costs, where the labour time differential matters less

• Specialized cleaning applications where wipe format is not practical, such as floor disinfection or large equipment surfaces

• Facilities with existing dilution infrastructure and trained staff where the transition cost to a wipe program would be significant

The goal of cost-per-use analysis is not to confirm a predetermined conclusion. It is to give procurement and facility managers the real numbers to make an informed decision. Talk to our team about your facility’s numbers and how Roxton’s DIN-registered wipes fit into them.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Cost-per-use is the correct metric for comparing disinfecting wipe programs to liquid concentrate programs. Purchase price alone is not. When labour time, secondary materials, and substrate performance are included in the analysis, commercial wipe programs are frequently competitive with or less expensive than concentrate programs at the same cleaning scope. Use the worksheets on this page to calculate the real numbers for your facility before making a product decision based on sticker price.

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RELATED TOPICS ON THIS SITE: What are commercial-grade disinfecting wipes and how are they different from consumer wipes? What disinfecting wipes do Canadian commercial cleaning companies typically use? What does a kill claim mean on a disinfecting wipe, and why does it matter?

Comparing wipes and liquid concentrate for your facility? Roxton makes DIN-registered commercial disinfecting wipes in Ontario and Alberta. Talk to our team about product options, pricing and the compliance documentation you need. Talk to Our Team  |  Contact Roxton  |  1-855-348-9473