Sanitising Underwear

[mark_wpduet]

You know

I only buy white underwear and white bath towels and wash clothes for the simple fact that I want to be able to use bleach when washing them. I would LIKE to have some colors in towels and wash clothes, but I can't bleach them so I don't buy them. Admittedly, everything that is WHITE does get thrown in together, but then bleach, powdered detergent, and the sanitary cycle and once done, I assure you that it's far from unhygienic. But I would never wash those same clothes in warm water without bleach.

 

[joe_in_philly]

Mark:

Target has a line of colored towels and sheets that are chlorine bleach compatible. I have the sheet set, and use bleach on them w/o any problems or fading.

Joe

 

[sudsmaster]

Microprocessor controlled bidet equipped toilet seats are now widely available, and most can fit any standard elongated bowl toilet. They are not too expensive (about $200), are easy to install, and they make this aspect of personal hygeine far more effective and comfortable than TP alone. A shower works too, but it's a hassle if someone is fully dressed at the time, and it uses far more water.

As for the wash temps, I'm too lazy to convert C to F, but I routinely wash undergarments at 150 to 160F with no qualms. They also get heat dried at about 145F. I keep separate hampers for soiled and laundered such items. That way any contamination of the soiled hamper is not transferred to freshly laundered such items.

And, as a matter of fact, soiled dish rags and kitchen sponges usualy contain far more dangerous bacteria than underwear. Sponges, in particular.

Unless someone in the household has a serious communicable disease, there shouldn't be an issue. I don't think the choice of laundry detergent makes much difference, although I think powders work better, and an oxygen bleach would probably help kill bacteria.

 

[sudsmaster]

Allergies

It's been said that plumbers and sewer workers tend to be quite healthy, because they build up immunity to the most common pathogens.

And I believe asthma has been linked to kids growing up in spotless households.

 

[neptunebob]

Actually, the underwear could make a dog sick....

Last year, my sister had to take her dog to the vet because he had a C. difficile infection (people in nursing know all about how bad that can be). She could not figure out where it came from. Once I was over her house and I noticed the dog, Chester laying in her husband Jupy's underwear pile. Jupy makes skid marks. Worst of all, he is a doctor, so he is exposed to C.Diff all day and probably is a carrier. The next week, Chester had C. Diff and had to be at the vet for a week with IVs. I told my sister what I saw and she agreed, but "he can't handle the truth". I didn't know if I wanted to say anything, but if Jupy would wipe _____ and eat high fiber, then they would not have to pay $1000 vet bills. She does wash in bleach though when there is enough clothes.

Laundress, since you have worked in nursing, do you agree that doctors are the worst offenders when it comes to infection control? I also notice you don't like Pine Sol - that's from working in nursing.

 

[launderess]

Over One Thousand Views For A Thread About Drawers

Clearly one has yet again under estimated this group. *LOL*

 

[frigilux]

It has been an excellent read, complete with conflicting viewpoints and a dust-up late in the second act. The Village Voice dubbed it "the 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof' of underwear threads."

 

[yogitunes]

so would that be like a Thousand Man March in their undies?...

or a Thousand skivvies strung across America on a clothesline?

your right....people have different opinions of doing almost any chore......I am more along the lines of why some people do the things that they do different than the general population, or where these ideas come from or how they get started....

but here we go again.....underwear can't be washed in the same load as pants!......this puzzles me again.....I have on CalvinKlein underwear, black contoured fit to be exact, at the same time I have on CalvinKlein button fly black jeans....actally my shirt and socks are also Calvins......they can touch each other while I wear them, but not touch while washing.......still find this odd!....

OK....can my Calvin jeans be washed together with my DazeyDuke wrangler shorts?.....I thought it was the tumbling making the noise, but maybe their actually fighting in there!.....I must get a window on my Neptunes......I bet they are waiting until I turn my back!...

this all makes sense now......I am not losing socks in the dryer.....one must have got kicked out by the others....I'll bet that red sock called the argyle one a name.....discrimination in the rinse cycle...what next?

I'll bet when my mother said "behave, or I'll seperate you guys!".....she was actually talking to the laundry!

 

[washer111]

Interesting Thread...

This thread has been particularly interesting for me to read, especially with the variety of opinions being expressed. As most who read this forum are probably aware, I am quite OCD about my own laundry.

If all my clothes could actually take being washed at 60-75º all the time, with lots of detergent and some sort of bleach (oxygen or liquid), then I imagine I wouldn't bother separating my laundry...
Unfortunately, that is not the case, and I'm careful about washing most things hotter than 50º. Darks and lights are separated (Regular clothing, not undergarments/socks), and the undergarments/socks are washed separately again - not because of any particular intestinal trouble, but as a precautionary measure to ensure that clothing of either colour is not "covered" with dirty stuff from down below. I guess if you over-think it, its like keeping hot food hot, and cold food cold; I've separated my Pants/Shirts germs from the ones "down below" (as well as any associated odours or "discolouration"), and maybe, just maybe, the detergent can work that little bit better on whatever germs/stains that remain on the type of load being washed.

Separating my laundry also allows me to use a cycle that fits the type of load - Dark/Denim cycle (lower water level, shorter and more abrasive wash and less interim spinning) for darks, Minimum Iron (higher water level, shorter, gentler wash and some interim spinning) for my Light/Bright shirts/pants and Delicates for Undergarments/Socks (High water level, short, very gentle wash with NO interim spinning and a pulsed slow final spin).
That way, each type of garment gets a more specialised cycle and temperature and can perhaps pre-long the life of some items - especially elastic stuff that would stretch from the bashing and slapping of a lower water level in the Miele FL, delicates in particular in my case (which are also kept suspended in water, with a good detergent dosage, so very good stain/odour removal here. My socks look like new with regular detergent...).

Again, this is just my point of view, and perhaps too OCD - but is good for my clothes more than anything, and is perhaps more sanitary. But, once the Bleach/High Temperature phase of the cycle is over and fresh water is added, you've just introduced whatever lives in your pipes and perhaps your water heater too, just like taking the items out of the machine just re-contaminates them.

 

[washer111]

Ooops:

"and the undergarments/socks are washed separately again"

No! They are separated from the other laundry, and washed separately. Washing something twice is ridiculous!

 

[mark_wpduet]

Washing them together

I know - they are touching each other while you're wearing them , so why not wash them together?

I dunno? Maybe because someone is afraid it will mass spread the germs onto the items being washed, the washer itself, and then the dryer, the coat hangers, the drawers they are stored in, etc...

It's probably crazy, but that's probably what does through someone's mind that is OCD. It has crossed my mind several times. LOL

 

[launderess]

For All You Girls and Guys That Love Busy Work

Along with being that worried about "catching" something from even clean drawers just go back to grandmother's day.

After washing, boiling and so forth your undergarments iron damp underthings with a hot and heavy iron until they are dry and crisp. The heat of the iron along with resulting steam will kill off quite allot of remaining *germs*. Oh but this would mean going back to undergarments your grandfather wore. No tight whites or "Y" fronts, but boxers with draw string waists.

Or, simply wear woolen undergarments as that fiber is bacteria resistant.

See? Problem solved

 

[frigilux]

Ah, sage advice indeed, milady; but does one launder woolen undergarments separately or with other such woolens as trousers and jackets?

Exeunt flourish!
[this post was last edited: 7/11/2013-06:58]

 

[yogitunes]

Makes perfect sense to me....George Washington had wooden teeth....why not wooden undies.....maybe thats where the term "woody" came from?...there was a time of wearing a barrel with two straps!....watch those splinters though...

but I was thinking more along the lines of "The Union Suit" the cowboys wore....

think back years ago, when a bath was a once a month, or every Saturday night thing!.....

and the Sears catalog was toilet paper in an outhouse!.....

do both ASS cheeks rub/touch when you walk?.....one side may be cleaner than the other.....and you wouldn't want to transfer anything would you?.....

you sure we can't move this over to the Dirty Laundry section?

 

[mattl]

I would seem that some here are imbuing that thin woven fabric of underwear with magical properties. It's a woven material, does anyone think its impervious and nothing passes through it? I think we can all agree is something is on one side of the fabric there is a 100% chance it is on the other side and consequently what ever is next to it. I think the answer is good basic toilet practices.

It would seem that a large portion of the populous is becoming germaphobes. The human race has survived in much, much filthier circumstances. More and more studies are showing that kids are much more prone to asthma and other issue when things are too clean. Kids with dogs are healthier than many of those that do not have a pet. My 95 year old father and my 85 year old aunt rarely got ill and they did not give a thought to cross contamination even in more recent times. My aunt would leave her food on the counter for days and nibble at it with no issue. I don't think I'd go that far but I am much less concerned about germs than I was a decade or so ago. I think I'm healthier for it.

 

[whirlcool]

I think you are on to something here.

When we are in the mall we see a lot of women walking down the concourse opening their purses and pulling out huge bottles of hand sanitizer and using it. When you go to the grocery store, you see the same thing where the carts are stored. Then when YOU grab a cart your hand gets all gooked up with someone else's hand sanitizer. Personally, I think it's better to wipe the buggy handle with a sanitizing wipe than to gunk up your hands.

I do think that a lot of this does lead to weaker immune systems. That's why you hear about a lot of kids today coming down with diseases that were rare just 10 years ago.

One of my questions though is why do a lot of flu's and other diseases start in Asian countries and then spread around the world? Maybe someone knows the answer to this?

 

[washer111]

Your Answer:

"One of my questions though is why do a lot of flu's and other diseases start in Asian countries and then spread around the world? Maybe someone knows the answer to this?"

Well, in China (at least) there are over 1 billion people, concentrated into large cities. Say I catch some horrible, deadly flu from my job, and we live in high density flats, I might bump into you tomorrow morning, sneeze/cough/spit and give you a deadly flu. You and I will walk past thousands of people to/from work and are jammed into railway cars.
In Asia, lots of people are in a small space - germs/diseases and bacteria all spread VERY quickly with so many in such a small space.

And again, personal hygiene is an issue in these countries - not many people could give second thought to leaving their hands unwashed before/after toileting and eating, especially with such resources in short supply all too often. Every wonder why people who drink water or eat street-shop cuisine often get "the trots" for a few days (Bali Belly, as its known in these parts)?

Buts its worth noting, these people may not have been educated about hygiene, and perhaps couldn't care less. They care more about earning enough money to feed themselves and their families, rather than spending it on hand sanitizers, soaps and waters

 

[sudsmaster]

A cold or flu virus wouldn't last more than a few seconds in a hot water wash. But they can linger on various handles (shopping cart, gas pump, etc) for hours and apparently that's a major transmission source for colds and flu (although flu virus can also be spread in an aerosol, such as if someone sneezes or cought in your close proximity).

Me, I find I get far fewer colds if I keep a squirt bottle of hand sanitizer in every vehicle and use it religiously every time I get back in the car. Of course keeping one's hands/fingers out of one's mouth/eyes/nose is another effective preventative measure, but about as effective as abstinence preventing unwanted pregnancies. Ask Sarah Palin about that one.

Sanitizing wipes are a good idea but I haven't found any that come in sizes that can be easily carried in a pocket etc. I guess Monk bought them all up?

 

[launderess]

Cannot speak to personal hygiene habits

But for more than fifty years Asian countries have been incubators on various influenza viruses. Much of this has to do with the very dense and crowded cities/living conditions of those countries.

National Geographic

Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

news.nationalgeographic.com

 

[mickeyd]

Swamp Ass

Oh Ye Youngins'~

I come from a time when the ultimate in skid marks, raccoon faces etc--OH, did you ever make me laugh!--were part of every family. I'm talking about nappies, didees, diapers, before the paper ones took all the troubles away. If you only knew.

They were indeed always washed separately, in hot water, with Clorox, and we all survived. At least I think I'm still really here.

Excuse me while I check.....

for racing stripes. I had a big beautiful plate of Boston Baked Beans with Smoked Bacon for dinner. LOLOLOLOLOLO and I feel a grand rumbling upheaval suddenly coming. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH