A nontoxic environmentally friendly aqueous disinfectant is disclosed for specific use as prevention against contamination by potentially pathogenic bacteria and virus. The aqueous disinfectant is formulated by electrolytically generating silver ions in water in combination with a citric acid. The aqueous disinfectant may include a suitable alcohol and/or a detergent. The aqueous disinfectant has been shown to be very effective at eliminating standard indicator organisms such as staphylococcus aureus, salmonella cholerasuis and pseudomonas aeruginosa.