Germ Warfare

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I just ran both washers through a hot water and cascade soak last night.. what a nasty mess my older whirly was... All the scrunge and gunk.. Two rinses later and i had clear water... But all the gunk was floating in the water
 
The facts are facts, but lets get real.
This is house hold laundry machines and it is used by one family in most cases.
Do you or I feel that a few germs is going to harm someone in the same family???
Haven't we build up enough immunity to combat this???
I think so.....
At this rate, these scientists are leading us to a super germ that Clorox will not remove.....
The more we hear about these minor nuasince the more paranoid people get and jump off the deep end........
OK......, so now we feel that everything must be germ free to live today?
Where's my BUBBLE?!?
 
Facts

That woman's LG washer was second to the Whirlpool toploader because she probably closes the door right away and does allow the machine to dry out.

That Whirlpool was gross. And if you have ever taken the shell of a DD machine, you will see where the bacteria are living. The outer tub. You have to be extra careful when dealing with machines that have plastic wash tubs. YUK!

I suppose the best of the bunch would be the F&P machines as they do disassemble easily for servicing and cleaning.

Otherwise, give me a stainless steel outer wash tub please.

MRB
 
Sounds more like laundry sorting for neurotics!

So, what are the documented cases of cross-infections caused by germ-laden washing machines to back up these claims? How did we ever survive in the olden days, before anti-bacterial additives, when people used to re-use washwater many times over in their wash tubs? Maybe the flu pandemic of 1918 was caused by people laundering their hankies with their unmentionables - the mind boggles. Should I, perhaps, autoclave my laundry from now on? Or ought I to replace my washer with an incinerator? Is there a link between climate change, the GFC, Islamic extremism and the germs that breed in our washers? Are washer germs destroying our future? Can I get a government grant to find out?

Food for germs?

rapunzel
 
Agreed this is waaayy out or bounds.

/too many people running loose screaming its not sanitized. Well that just might be a GOOD thing! A bit of bacteria is what causes us ALL to help build up antibodies against more dangerous things. It is a FACT that housekeeping and laundry employees ARE sick less often than other staff due to being exposed to a wide amount of well yes GERMS! Thus helping us to build our immune system up. I had a number of employees at the old plant that had been there 30 and 40 years and had never missed a day due to a illness. Most had take off for personal and family reasons but NOT illness. They were there long before I ever started and ALL reitred in GOOD health!
So to all you clammering sickies running around with a Clorox bottle in each hand screaming at the top your germ laden lungs remember germs ARE NOT ALL BAD!
 
At my place of work...

...three of the four washers, that we use to launder clothes for 50 residents, are over 20 years old. When staff load clothing with poo on it they often leave skid marks on the washer tops. Whilst we stock gloves, disinfectant cleaner and paper towels in each laundry, rarely are they used. More detergent ends up over the tops of the machines and in the agitator conditioner dispensers, than in the wash tub. Staff often select cold instead of the recommended warm wash necessary to activate the germicidal properties of our detergent (we use Eltra). Yet, in the six years that I've been working there, we've only had one episode of gastroenteritis requiring us to lock down the place. I can say with certainty that this incident was not caused by the germs that live in our washing machines. When nobody is around I often clean up the laundries. The clothes come out cleaner than the linen we get back from the industrial laundry and the machines are clean on the inside and never smell.

rapunzel
 
At my place of work

How do you live with yourself? Are you bragging? Are you maybe looking for a forum where you can get your kicks by springing scat references on the unsuspecting? You express no interest in appliances on your profile. Are you here to gross us out? Many of us have cared for elderly loved ones or are doing so now. Reading of what amounts to abuse, negligence, malfeasance and heaven knows what other evil in your place of work is very upsetting. I hope someone in your country reads your post and is motivated to start an investigation. Taking advantage of anyone with whose care you are entrusted is evil. It does not matter if we are talking about human beings or animals receiving poor treatment.

If warm water is needed to activate the germicidal properties of a detergent, a cold water wash should not even be a selectable option on the washing machines in an institutional setting.
 
I have to agree that some of this is taken way too far. You do need to be exposed to some germs/bacteria. I think if everyone follows proper laundering habits, everything should be okay. When done, leave top or door of washer open. If your whites are bleached, then this should be enough. Clean fabric softener dispenser regularly. I have never had mold, mildew, or smell problems.
 
We all survived

It was told to me along time ago: God made dirt, and dirt don't hurt. We as a society, have been made paranoid by all this germ craze. In a recent study scientist's did on children, If more kids were allowed to eat dirt once in a while, as well as allowed to get dirty when they played, they would have more natural antibodies ahainst all these wierd diseases and viruses. Just a thought.
 
Bragging?

Not at all and I don't even understand why you would make such a statememt.

Don't know how it is in the US, but I work in an industry that is chronically underfunded and understaffed. Folk don't come and beat down the doors of aged care facilities to work there. Those that do are overworked and grossly underpaid. They generally go above what is required of them to make the lives of the ones they care for better; and that is a heck of a lot more than many families do for their own parents and relatives.

The vast majority of people, who are prepared to work as aged carers, now come from non-English speaking backgrounds. Many of them have very limited English. They just manage to pass the competencies required for them to qualify as basic level aged carers. They are by and large good people, who try to do the right thing, but some things do get lost in translation ever so often. Thus, I go in and fix things that have been overlooked by others. We have monthly meetings where issues are discussed, memos are issued and staff are spoken to individually. Written instructions and pictures on how to use the washing machines are displayed in both laundries and so is information regarding infection control protocols. Still, things don't always go as they ideally should and working with people I find that many can't or aren't prepared to think or take initiatives for themselves.

Our staff ratio for the morning shift is 50 residents divided between 3 care staff plus one shift supervisor, who does the medications, wound dressings, organizes Dr's and other medical appointments, liaises with me, residents, relatives and so on. I am not going into details about what care staff have to do, but anyone who has looked after the elderly knows the complexities of assisting people with advanced dementia and other age related problems. All residents have to be showered and ready by 10:00am - staff start work at 6:30am - you do the maths and try to imagine how busy that is. So if a little brown streak ends up on the top of our washing machines and isn't cleaned off instantly, it isn't because of neglect, carelessness or malificence, it's because people are run off their feet. It most certainly isn't the end of the world. Our cleaner cleans the laundries twice a week, but that doesn't account for the other five days and if no other staff are available I go in and fix it. After 1:00pm we only have 2 staff to take care of our residents and from 9:30pm it's only one. Then there are the agency temps, they are another challenge and I try to avoid bringing them in as little as possible.

You know, from personal experience I can say with utmost certainty that a lot of people who talk like you have no real interest in or understanding of what it takes to look after elderly people. You propbably wouldn't even get out of bed for the money that aged carers get paid, let alone clean up people, who, after all, are strangers.

In regards to 'scat' references (which is a term that relates to a sexual practice)- that is your inference, so stop projecting your crap on my post. If the mere mention of the word 'POO' makes you react like this, what do you do when you go to the toilet? Have mental crisis? Let me guess, you s**t gold nuggets that don't smell.

So I don't have any appliances in my profile - what are you? My mother? And ,yes, I can live with myself. What about you?

Kind regards

rapunzel

P.S. - I bet you've never had someone's stoma bag burst on you whilst performing CPR on them.
 
Well...

I am not going to judge the American way of washing. I just will tell you about how it is here in GERMany :-)

Actually, I can say that in the past I have NEVER heard about problems with germs in washing machines or that a washer smells bad. That just came up the last 2 or 3 years since everbody wants to save the planet by washing everything cold. That led to more and more washers which would be considered as stinky and dirty. 5 years ago, everything was fine. All the housewives (and -men) ran a 60°C/140°F wash or even hotter and we were all happy. NOW people wash their bedding, underwear, kitchen towles or baby clothes cold. It is true that todays detergents clean well in cold water but they won't stop a build up of nasty smell or germs. Thats why even one of our primetime news show brought up a report about this theme where they recommend to wash at least at 60°C/140°F every week or every 2 weeks (depends on the amount of laundry you have) and the machine and its owner will be happy. If you still have problems, you have the option to run an empty boilwash at 95°C/203°F with citric acid and a scoop of Persil and that should kill everything. I by the way never had problems with those issues. Maybe it is because I refuse to wash my bedding or underwear in cold water or maybe it is because I run at least an empty boilwash with the ingredients mentioned above twice a year.

And another point: The bleach in Persil for example (and in most of the German powdered detergents for whites) is based on hydrogen peroxide. I was told that it works best in hot water. Please note, I am not talking about enzymes. When you run a boilwash, the washer will remain some time at the station of about 30° or 40° C (86°/104° F) to give the enzymes time to do their work (well, my Miele does that and I suppose washers from other brands do that too). It is called the enzyme-phase of the mainwash. After that, the heater starts to rise the temperature, the enzymes will die and the bleach begins its work. So I was quite puzzled when the lady in the video recommended to use bleach in cold water. But maybe it is another type of bleach, there are several types that work differently.
I have "Eau de Javel" here at my house and I use it for really tough stains on whites. If I would use it on colored items, I could throw them away because it is not colorsafe. I already ruined a shirt because some drops of the bleach got on it so the dark blue color was gone after 10 minutes. "Eau de Javel" works in any water temperature so I think it really depends on the type of bleach someone uses.

I wished everbody would stop that "cold-wash-hype". It is okay to save energy but not on the wrong end. One time, I did the experiment to wash a load of 60°-items on cold. They came out nearly clean but did not smell like that. And still some stains on my kitchen towles. That cured me from doing further loads on a coldwash.
 
Flo,

Das war super. Danke!
Eau de Javel ist Klorbleiche. Diese Art Bleichmittel ist auch in kaltem Wasser genau so effektive als in 100C Wasser, stnkt und dampft aber nicht so sehr.

Flo put it perfectly. By the way, Chlorine bleach here in Munich at my dealer is 7%...yikes.
 
Strange how experiences can differ. I was always a big fan of 95C washing, but I am doing cold washes exclusively for many months now and I still don't have problems with smelly laundry or washer. My laundry is still clean and fresh. How long does it take to develop these symptoms?
 
maybe it depends....

...on the detergent you use and whether or not you leave the door on the washing machine slightly open for ventilation after using the machine?

One thing I miss about the current machine I've got is that 95C washes are no longer possible.
 
Well,
I'm using Neutral Color detergent (powder) and that works fine. However, when the box is empty I'll switch to Ecover concentrated liquid (it was on introduction offer so I thought to give it a try). See what happens...
 
Well...

unlike many Australians, I'm a warm water (or hotter) washer...front load machines with heaters almost encourage it (yippee)

BUT, when it comes to bleach, I don't use it at all....and have never had a smelly washing machine - EVER - and that includes leaving it for 3 years whilst overseas

...but then I don't use the 3 things that tend to aggravate smelly washer syndrome

- cool/cold washing
- liquid detergent
- fabric conditioner

So my machine never gets a change to get a buildup
 
Also depends on the tub....

If your machine has a plastic tub, bad smells will evolve faster. Stainless steel tubs are a big advantage in this case. Miele only uses stainless steel tubs over here.
 
Aha, I have a stainless tub so that may suppress the bad odours.

Plastic is also a good absorber of perfumes. I tried a strongly scented fabric softener long ago and the dispenser still gives off that smell more than a year later. Big mistake...
 
I saw this product at Ace Hardware last night - $14.99 for an 8 oz. bottle. It does state that you only need a couple of tablespoons per use and can even use it on your "smelly towels" by following the directions. The news story is actually from one of our local stations here, helping a woman rid her towels of "stank" in her.....direct drive Whirlpool washer!

The website is chock full of references to "smelly washers, smelly towels, smelly front load washers" etc. so it must be an epidemic. I've had a front-loading washer for years, from my first Bendix, Westinghouse and even the stingy-water Duet and have never, ever had an odor problem.

As far as the top loading washers go, I can see where some of these have troubles with the method of rinsing, draining, etc. that they use. Add to it cold water, hard water problems and improper detergent usage, etc. and you've got a biological horror show in the making.

 
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