Sanitizing Laundry Without Chlorine Bleach

[lordkenmore]

I've been wondering the last few days what methods can help sanitize laundry without using chlorine bleach.

Overall, I am not paranoid about germs. With a lot of laundry, I figure if it comes clean, it's probably good enough. But some things I am concerned about. Hand towels, for example--I want my hands cleaner after being washed and dried than before washing! Plus there is the first wash for new thrift shop finds--who knows where the item was a month ago?

Chlorine bleach is the obvious answer, but--as we all know--it's not a choice for colors.

So I'm left wondering what to do for colored items. Raise water temperature? At the temperatures where sanitizing apparently takes place would also be hard on colors.

Add something to the wash water? That seems viable--but it leaves me wondering what. So far, I've heard claims that oxygen bleach (OxiClean type and liquid jug), ammonia, PineSol, and vinegar might work. Others claim these won't work. And some of these might potentially be harmful. Some say oxygen bleach could fade colors, and vinegar could harm the washer.

Using the dryer is another possible option, since I've heard that can help.

Of course, I could replace everything--like towels--I'm concerned about with a white equivalent that could tolerate chlorine bleach. I'm tempted, although I like my current collection of towels--almost all are actually made in the US, rather than Pakistan or India or China like most (all?) new towels.

 

[earthling177]

I think a lot of it has more to do with CYA than reality. If you have good towels made in USA they are probably colorfast and can be washed in hot water. That's what I do with mine. I don't notice any more fading that if I washed them in warm or cold water -- they all look a bit worse after 7 years. I can see things that are not colorfast taking a turn for the worse if you use hot water, but if they are colorfast, they should be pretty fine at 140F/60C, which in America we call Hot. Maybe it's not a good idea to boil them, but most people don't want to do that.

I've never done it, but know people who disinfect their colorfast clothes by being very careful with the chlorine bleach -- they measure very carefully the lowest recommended amount, bleach for just 3 minutes or so, then rinse very very well, including a vinegar rinse to neutralize the bleach.

And I've heard of people using the old brown bottle Lysol, but good grief, the smell alone probably sends the germs running away before the disinfectant hits the wash water... ;-)

 

[frigilux]

If you dry clothes thoroughly in a dryer, you have little to be concerned with.

But since you asked....here's a relatively new product (at least for the home consumer): a sanitizing fabric softener!

http://sanifast.com/

 

[maytagbear]

One aspect of sanitizing

wash without chlorine is volume.

If the machine is NOT overloaded, disinfecting can happen without chlorine. If the items can move FREELY in the wash water, be it vertically positioned, or horizontally positioned, they can come out sanitary.

If I have a doubtful wash load, I run a prewash with detergent and lots of water, a long wash with detergent and lots of water, and hit the "extra rinse" button.

Reliable testing has proved it.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[circlew]

Quat Sanitizer

I have used this upon occasion on items that have come in contact with dirty water (drain backup), or have developed a sour smell. Soak for 10-15 mins. Can't remember for sure, but think I used one oz. per gallon of water.

 

[vintagesearch]

i use lysol or mistolin in measured amounts extra rinse and air dry i have had no problems or odors....

 

[favorit]

Paulo is right, most of the colorfast garments (undies,socks, towels, sheets, towels, bathrobes ...) can be washed @ 140°F with proper detergents without optical brighteners.

IMHO Asko manuals give a nice advice : they say that every garment that comes in contact with skin has to be washed @ 140°F at least

I have several Ikea Baven towels (nice and soft, but obviously not meant to be world best quality) that are routinely washed @ 140°F. Colors don't fade at all, after some years they look like brand new, even red ones !

Products

Browse our full range of products from dressing tables to complete modern kitchens. Click here to find the right IKEA product for you. Browse online and in-store today!

www.ikea.com

 

[favorit]

and when hot is not allowed .....

... one can add Napisan to the main wash detergent :

Powder and tabs are sodium percarbonate, liquid is oxygen bleach based on peroxyde.

napisan.com.au - This website is for sale! - napisan Resources and Information.

This website is for sale! napisan.com.au is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, napisan.com.au has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

www.napisan.com.au

 

[sudsman]

As one has already pointed out

Proper loading of the washer is cruical with colored work. Items must move freely . Even the slighest over load as small as 1Lb can increase the culture test to alarming rates. While a machine underloaded by even 10 % test were almost perfect when washed at no lower than 135 and was so at 140. Keep in mind that almost all mfgs. overrate the capacity of their machines by almost 10% anyway. The best rule of thumb is to allow 6 to 6.25 lbs of work for each cubic foot of machine capacity. IE; a 2.7 cu ft machine should be loaded to about 16 lbs a 3 cu ft capacity would be 18 lbs. Also it was found that lcb in small amounts 1 to 2 oz did not harm colors at all in fact it brightened them up . On smaller loads 1 oz was enough to bring a load of colored thermals (pink) to a sanitized range. But a stated before was also found that after tumble drying at as low as 140 and and most all home dryer exceed that, the load was rendered sterile anyway. Also after test of work hung in the sun for as little as 15 mins it was noted the same. Uv rays are VERY much powerful that most realize. Also we found that work processed on the flatwork ironer was also rendered sterile even when processed at a very high speed of 80 to 100 feet per min. When speed was raised to the point the work was damp and not fully dry then is was also noted all the bacteria was not killed . However no one is going to accept wet or damp work. And in our plant the folder will not fold damp work anyway it just by passes it to the rear of the folder, to be reironed So use common sense and you will have no problems.In conclusion it should also be noted that when tested the small amount of bacteria that was left on some of the loads that did not come out fully santized was not anything that would have made one sick. All "bad" had been killed.

 

[panthera]

Lee,

Thank you.

I suspect an awful lot of people whose washers look like something out of a swamp inside are only not suffering from more problems because of the sun and the clothes dryer.

When rebuilding the WestySlantFront two years ago, we found that that wonderful thermostatically driven "timer" tripped when the clothes were not below 145 and not above 152F.

Guess they knew what they were doing back then. I wonder how warm modern automatic dryers leave the clothes?

 

[launderess]

One reason early housekeeping manuals advised against coloured bed and bath linens was such things couldn't be "boil washed" and or subjected to chlorine bleach. So welcome to their world.

Activated oxygen bleach such as the new Tide series will do some santising, as well sodium percarbonate or perborte (oxygen bleach), but am here to tell you that such chemicals with even warm but surely with hot water will probably change the colour of all but the most colourfast items over time. My vintage Cannon terrycloth bath times in regular use are much lighter shade of blue than the surplus stock that hasn't been used nor laundered yet. Since my washing routine includes either Persil or another detergent along with a good dose of oxygen bleach, that is the only answer.

Truthfully, proper laundering but more so machine drying will render your bath linens sanitised enough. You could always iron your kitchen towels (a mangle is great for this), which would kill off any remaining germs.

Quite honestly unless someone in your home as come down with or been exposed to a serious infectious disease, the above is really all that is required.

Lysol is a phenol disinfectant, and that substance is highly toxic. I should want to rinse many, many times after using it for laundry to rid textiles not only of the scent, but any lingering traces of chemicals.

Quats are a good sanitiser or disinfectant, however are best used in the rinse cycle. Commercial laundry chemical supplies have been selling sanitising "fabric softeners" for years. They are mainly used for cloth diapers, towels and bath linens in commercial use (health spas, health clubs, diaper services, etc). If you have connections in Germany,Persil now has a version, sadly it is not sold outside of the EU.

 

[lordkenmore]

Thanks for all the answers to date!

One thing I'm wondering about is whether the oxygen-type bleaches have to be "activated." I'm under the (perhaps incorrect) impression that activated oxygen bleaches are relatively rare in the US market.

I am not worried about "perfect" color protection. Some fading seems inevitable. I just don't want it to dramatically occur in one wash!

As for machine loading, I'm hoping I've been OK to date, although I'm thinking I'll try more precise calculations. (Thankfully, I think I actually have the washer's owner's manual which gives load sizes!) Historically, I've been careful not overload--which may be why I survived 10 years with Shredmore with few problems.

 

[panthera]

Persil

Yes, Laundress, we do have it here. The list of warnings is also impressive. I think Henkel have quite properly decided that it is too risky to sell in markets with too high levels of illiteracy or where the volume of water used for washing would mandate very high levels.

I send or bring tons of the stuff (well, kilos) every year to family, my honey and friends in the 'States. They all, however, actually read.

Persil over here always warns in their advertising that "Vollwaschmittel" means it will bleach the (expletive deleted) out of your colors now-a-days. Back in the old days, we all learned that it was OK to use a Vollwaschmittel at 40C because the oxygen bleach wasn't activated. Now that you can get it going below 30C, a lot of people had to relearn.

I pre-soaked a load of filthy jeans overnight (motorcycle chain dirty) in Megaperls, using the 40C soak and agitate in my machine. When they came out of the wash the next day, they were enormously lighter. The grease and dirt was gone, though.

Are you familiar with our "Sagrotan" here in Europe?

 

[bernina]

Please don't use phenol if you have pets

It's especially toxic to cats.

 

[panthera]

Cats and pregnant women

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[dirtybuck]

Does anyone remember a product from the mid-80's, Lysol Sanitizer (it came out about the same time as Liquid Tide's debut)? It was added to the wash cycle to disinfect and sanitize laundry. I think it was just dry bleach. Unfortunately, the product didn't have a very long life with consumers, and it was discontinued after a year or so.

 

[mattl]

I have a rock hard box of Lysol Sanitizer sitting in the closet somewhere. Always liked the product.

 

[launderess]

Slightly Better Smelling Than Lysol

But a phenol disenfectant none the less is Amphyl, and it can be used for sanitising laundry.

Most any commercial cleaning supply or such store sells Amphyl, you can also often find it online, including fleaBay.

http://www.alliancesupplyonline.com/uploads/AMPHYLBULK.pdf

 

[MrX]

Dettol (but *not* the old-fashioned version)

For sanitising laundry I use Dettol Lavender & Orange Oil.

In a front loader, the way I do it is as follows:

Set Machine on a normal wash with the pre-wash option turned on.

Put normal powder detergent into the main wash (II) dispenser drawer.
Put fabric softener (conditioner) into the conditioner dispenser.

Pour 160ml of Dettol lavender and orange oil into the prewash dispenser while starting the wash.

The machine does a short heated wash with Dettol, killing the bugs.

Then spins and does a main wash + rinses and spin as normal.

I have found it an excellent solution when dealing with pet bedding or clothes which have come home from hospital when my grandmother was in.

Dettol is effective against a whole range of bugs, including MSRA.

I'm sure there are similar products on the market in the United States and elsewhere.

Important note:

Cats are very sensitive to certain disinfectant products. They can actually die if exposed to certain disinfectant products, particularly phenols as they are unable to eliminate them from their bodies.

They may also lick these chemicals off their paws or fur etc.

If you are disinfecting pet bedding, you should ensure it's very thoroughly rinsed before you allow the pet to use it again.

Do not use phenol-based disinfectants *AT ALL* if you have cats.

This is why I always put the disinfectant into the prewash rather than the final rinse (which is what the makers of Dettol recommend).