Are you Washing Your Clothes Wrong? Probably.

[washer111]

I've Said it Before:

And I'll say it again:

 

I prefer not to do the "Just chuck it in regime" in my laundry. Why? Because I can't cater for each type of clothing in there. If I wash Undergarments/Socks at 60º, I don't want to wash my light/bright shirts AND dark items at this temperature too. 

Nor do I want any residue from those garments on my Shirts/Pants. 

 

I separate my loads to care for each item. That way, I don't have to wash my shirts and pants in hot water when they don't need it. 

Regarding Sanitisers, I don't bother with them. The detergent concentration should've taken care of most of the nasties in the water (flushing them away). 

 

Now as for washers that can heat water to Steaming or Sanitary or Boiling temperatures, a number of models have been able to do this since the 1950's or 1960s in the United Kingdom. You think those things are poorly built? No. Members from that corner of the globe always comment on their simplistic design, good build quality and fast cycles. Hardly "marketing bunk" in my opinion. And these machines can often get clothes cleaner, as they have a wide profile of temperatures the clothes are washed in - starting cold and moving upwards. 

 

[sudsmaster]

Sanitize vs. Sterilize

Thanks, Laundress, for bringing up this point (again).

"Sanitize" seems to be a fairly flexible definition, but for home laundry a minimum temp of 155F with a good effective detergent seems to be the standard. I imagine a commercial or hospital laundry will have higher standards and ways to check the cleanliness of the final wash result.

"Sterilize" is far more defined, but it is something anyone at sea level could do with a home pressure cooker. 15 lbs of pressure (250F) for at least 30 minutes, with articles either unwrapped or wrapped in cloth or paper that allows live steam to contact every surface, effectively will sterilize ordinary articles. Times will vary on the type of article being sterlized and how it's packaged. It's similar in theory to cannning, where one uses the combined high pressure, high heat (250F or higher) and moisture (live steam) to kill the nasties. With an autoclave, times and temps may vary depending not only on what is being sterilized but also the design and operation of the autoclave (a big controlled pressure cooker, basically).

I worked for some years in a public health school research lab and they had the autoclaving down to a science. Later on I worked in private industry that made ostensibly sterile media and I was shocked at the lack of understanding of the basics of autoclaving on their production line. I quickly spotted the cause of their contamination issues, got them to change their process, and after that, no problems.

Dry heat can also be used to sterilize items, but as I recall the temps are even higher and the times much longer. For some pathogens, even autoclaving for any length of time is ineffective. For example, prions (the presumed cause of mad cow disease) are not inactivated by autoclaving, but can be destroyed by flame. And the recommendation for sterilizing cages used to house raccoons infected with round worm is to use a flame thrower. I guess with the raccoons removed first. The eggs of Procyonis baylisascaris being extremely hard to kill.

http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/disinfection_sterilization/13_0sterilization.html

 

[launderess]

Sanitize At Least In Medical/Nursing/Heathcare Settings

Is defined as reducing possible pathogens (germs) to levels unlikely to cause disease.

The only surfaces or whatever in hospitals that are sterile are labeled as such and come in protective containers. Everything else including linens are sanitized to the extent possible.

 

[launderess]

And Now You Understand

Why so many things formerly cleansed then sanitized or sterilized in healthcare settings have been replaced by disposables. It is just cost effective this way as opposed to all the labour and energy costs in doing otherwise.

Things like bedpans and urinals are obviously cleaned after each use, but they are assigned to each patient and either thrown away or they take them home upon discharge. However make no mistake no one is *giving away* anything. Hospitals bill for those "bedside" kits.

 

[launderess]

Another Thing To Consider

Is how quickly hot temperatures can be reached in laundering equipment.

Domestic washing machines even those equipped to reach "boil" temps do so very slowly for the most part. This can be the result of several reasons but for the purposes of killing pathogens is not the way go. Slow reaching of even temperatures that in theory will kill germs allows many to adopt defences to thwart what they see coming, an increasingly hostile living environment. Yes, you will reduce their numbers but not totally.

Commercial washers that use say steam for heating can go from ice cold to boiling rather quickly. This fast hitting of temps catches "germs" off their guard this they have no time to form defences.

In general however chemical disinfection is more certain than heat. This is probably one of the reasons American laundry both commercial and domestic long stopped boiling laundry and used chemicals (usually chlorine bleach) instead. In food service to the public most all local health codes mandate use of a registered chemical disinfectant where heat is not used for washing/final rinse of dishware.