How To Disinfect Clothes The Proper Way?
How To Disinfect Clothes The Proper Way? You are very particular about your overall hygiene and love keeping your house clean. You want to make sure that your family does not fall prey to any diseases due to microbial transmissions. You take hygienic precautions to wash your hands and clean your house frequently, but what about your clothes? Washing your clothes might lower the harmful effects of germs but it does not kill them entirely. This way, your clothes can end up carrying a certain percentage of germs. You need to ensure that you disinfect clothes properly to do away with the microbes carrying various infections. This article will shed some light on how to disinfect clothes the proper way.
Best Ways To Disinfect Clothes
There are a few chemicals that can help in disinfecting the clothes and killing the microbes responsible for spreading diseases. You can try to disinfect clothes and maintain cleanliness measures according to the list given below:
You Should Try To Do Your Laundry
You might have a helpful washer but a sure shot way to avoid germs is to do your own laundry. There will be no external agents handling your clothes and that will minimize the risk of bacterial transmission. If you do your laundry, you will be able to confine the circle within which your clothes can be handled.
Use Warm Water
Generally, people have the habit of washing their clothes in normal water or cold water. Your first step towards disinfection should be to use warm water for washing your clothes. Please do not subject your clothes to very hot water as that might damage the fabric of your clothes.
Dip Your Clothes In Quaternary Ammonium Before You Wash Them
Quaternary ammonium is a powerful disinfectant that helps in killing different types of viruses like rhinovirus and rotavirus. Quaternary ammonium is one of the components that are present in fabric softeners. You should dip your clothes for 10 to 15 minutes in quaternary ammonium before washing your clothes. Popular quaternary ammonium includes benzalkonium chloride which aids in killing non-enveloped viruses.
Use Of Phenolic Disinfectants
A phenolic disinfectant like Lysol is a good option for washing clothes. It is a powerful chemical compound and hence you should use it after mixing it with warm water. Some of the phenolic disinfectants can cause deterioration of fabrics because of its corrosive nature. O-Phenylphenol is a good substitute compound for phenolic disinfectants as it is less caustic in nature.
Use Of Pine Oil Products
Another good option for disinfecting clothes is Pine oil products like Pine-Sol and Lysol Pine. These types of disinfectants are highly effective in killing various types of bacteria thereby rendering the clothes germ-free. You can easily use it to wash colorful clothes as well as white fabric.
Use of Chlorine-based Disinfectants
Chlorine compounds, apart from its disinfecting properties, also have bleaching properties that restrict its usage for washing clothes. It is better to use chlorine-based disinfectants to wash white fabrics only. Do not use it to wash colored fabrics as it can bleach them and render them with faded colors. Chlorine-based disinfectants can be useful only when it has 5.25% to 6.15% of sodium hypochlorite present in its solution. You need to add lukewarm water with chlorine disinfectants before using it to temper the effects of its bleaching property. Please avoid using chlorine-based disinfectants to wash silk and woolen clothes.
Make Sure You Dry Your Clothes Completely
You might have an automatic washing machine which can help you to dry your clothes. You should also dry your clothes under proper sunlight. Many a time, the clothes can still remain damp even after drying it in washing machines. Damp clothes can give rise to mold which can cause a lot of health problems. It is common knowledge that sunlight contains ultraviolet rays which plays a major role in killing germs and bacteria. So please ensure that your washed clothes get a sufficient dose of sunlight.
Other Precautions
- You might not spare a thought for the cleanliness of your laundry basket. It is equally important to clean and disinfect your laundry basket regularly. You can do this job with the help of any disinfectant available in your home.
- Please clean your hands before folding the dry clothes.
How To Disinfect Clothes The Proper Way? – This article has mentioned a few provisions to disinfect clothes which you can try to get a healthier outlook. Make sure you use the right product to disinfect clothes so that the quality of the fabric remains intact.
