There comes a time in everyone’s life when disinfecting becomes part of a laundry routine. And with winter colds rife at this time of year, it’s important to keep your home as clean as possible—especially the fabrics you use on a daily basis.
Perhaps you have a family member who works in the medical field? Or maybe your little ones have recently come down with a nasty winter bug?
Let’s find out how to disinfect laundry and start sanitizing your weekly load!
How to Disinfect Laundry to Keep Bacteria at Bay When Should I Disinfect My Laundry?
While experts believe you should regularly disinfect your laundry, it’s not something that needs to be done with every single load.
Regular washing goes a long way, but “disinfecting” requires using temperatures or substances to kill germs.
The general rule of thumb is that if someone in your household has been sick, if you’ve been exposed to bacteria or viruses, or have any clothing that gets sweaty and smelly—now’s the time to sanitize. That goes for clothing such as gym socks and shirts, but also for bedding and towels, too.
How To Kill Bacteria in your Laundry Load
1. Run a Hot Cycle
Don’t underestimate the power of heat for banishing germs. It’s recommended to use hot water between the temperatures of 140-194° F to safely disinfect your clothing. Your washing machine may give you the option of a disinfect cycle, otherwise, manually choose a hotter cycle.
Remember to read the care labels carefully before washing your clothes at a high temperature – you don’t want to risk shrinking them in the process!
2. Steam Clean
Steam cleaners do a mighty good job of killing germs—as long as the steamer is hot enough. It should reach at least 167° F to kill any microbes or viruses, but most steam cleaners will reach 200° F or higher.
Not only are they incredibly convenient to kill germs, they also leave your clothes looking brand new. In fact, we believe steam cleaners are a key tool in every home’s laundry arsenal.
And if you’re really looking to lighten your load, why not let your local Denver laundromat give your laundry a deep clean for you? At WaveMAX, we use a miracle product called Ozone to disinfect your laundry—better known as nature’s sanitizer. Find out more here.
3. Use Bleach, or a Bleaching Agent
From oxygenated bleach that’s a lot safer than chlorine, to hydrogen peroxide or phenol—even good old fashioned Borax is making a comeback—there are plenty of ways of killing germs with the help of a bleaching agent. This is a viable option if you’re in need of a deep clean for a particularly soiled load, or if you’re dealing with something like bed bugs or a violent flu.
As a general rule of thumb:
Use ¼ cup of bleach in a separate tub filled with a regular load of soiled laundry.
As for Borax, ½ a cup can be added to your washing drum alongside your regular detergent, and 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide can be used for brightening, lightening and disinfecting your load.
Make sure to rinse thoroughly and wash warmer if you can.
4. Use White Vinegar
For a naturally antibacterial alternative, white vinegar is a great way of neutralizing bad smells and killing germs. To keep your washing machine or laundry in tip top condition, we recommend adding a ¼ cup to your weekly load.
5. Try Pine Oil as a Disinfectant
Pine oil has been used as a natural antibacterial soap for centuries, and is now an integral part of many disinfectants – particularly in places such as tattoo studios or clinics. It can be used to safely deep clean clothing, but also to kill microbes on surfaces, floors and more.
6. Make Use of Sunlight
This one is a much-overlooked form of killing germs, and it’s completely free too. If it’s a bright and sunny winter day, hanging clothes outside to dry will also go a long way towards destroying any lingering bacteria.
The Rules of Disinfecting
1. Check the Label First
Always check labels before cranking up the heat, or adding chemicals.
For example if you're using bleach, make sure that your laundry is bleach-safe beforehand. It shouldn’t be used with delicates such as wool and silk, and should only be used on white fabrics.
2. Dilute Chemicals Before Use
We recommend using chemicals sparingly by diluting them well beforehand, and soaking clothes in water - instead of pouring them directly onto your clothes.
3. Use Them in a Separate Tub, Where Possible
To avoid unnecessary damage to the rubber parts of your washing machine, we recommend using chemical disinfectants before running a laundry load.
4. Stay Safe
Be sure to use gloves, wear long sleeves and trousers and a mask to reduce any unsafe exposure to chemicals or scalding heat. And of course, keep out of the reach of children.
5. Go Beyond Washing
If you’ve a designated area or utility area for disinfecting, don’t forget to disinfect the household surfaces, too.
Feeling confident about giving your laundry a deeper clean than usual? If not, and you’re still looking for a way of lightening your load, we recommend using our pick-up and delivery service.
Try researching “laundry near me” to get in touch with your local laundromat. And if you’re looking for the best laundromat in Denver, Thornton, Westminster, Broomfield, Federal Heights or Northglenn, we can’t wait to see you at WaveMAX Thornton!
