How to disinfect clothes that cannot be washed with hot water

We know that personal hygiene and washing clothes have always been present in our lives, but with the situation of the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, these measures have been intensified on a large scale.

Although cleaning surfaces and sanitizing the spaces we occupy is something to which we have become accustomed over time, washing our clothes is an issue with which we have struggled. Well, even if we want to disinfect our entire wardrobe, there are clothes that we cannot wash with hot water.

The WHO has provided information on the behavior of this virus, especially its residence time on surfaces, which can vary from hours to days, depending on the temperature and humidity conditions of the environment. Although personal hygiene and cleaning the house are very important aspects, we must think about the care of our clothing.

Read also: How to take care of your bag during the pandemic

According to “S Moda”, the fashion and beauty supplement of the Spanish newspaper, El País, a recommended temperature for washing everyday clothes, pajamas and sheets is 60º C, in addition to using detergents with active oxygen or with a little white vinegar.

The newspaper recommends that if you have been or are in constant contact with someone infected, the ideal is to wash separately the clothes that you wear when you come into contact with someone who has Covid-19, because although the WHO has shown that this virus can remain on some surfaces for a short time, it is important to separate garments that have been in environments prone to this virus.

Read also: How to wash white clothes

But, although this is the recommended temperature, we know that there are garments that cannot be washed in such hot water, for this reason Héctor Zamora Carreras, a research biochemist at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), declared to the web portal “ Damn Science” that: “temperature is not the only factor that affects the integrity of the virus. Coronaviruses are characterized by their structure, in which there is a layer of lipids (fat) that surrounds the viral particle. This envelope is susceptible to being destabilized and destroyed by the action of detergents”.

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According to a study published by the "Journal of Hospital Infection", the reduction of coronaviruses in the fabric of the garments can occur from 39º to 40º, but this will help you to be sure that your clothes will fit 100 % is the duration of the wash cycle.

During this washing cycle, it has been seen that 4.7 times more infectious viruses are eliminated in garments, that is, that out of every 50,000 viruses, only one remains with infective capacity.

Remember that to wash clothes we have to separate them according to the fabrics, although 60º is something very hot where whites, underwear and bedding can be washed, clothes like jeans and some colored clothes need to be washed with water warm or at room temperature with the use of commonly used disinfectants and detergents.

Photo: Pexells

When drying your clothes, it is better to put them in a ventilated place, since this allows the fabric to air and allows the bacterial particles to die. It is important that you do not leave your clothes in the washing machine, because the wet ones generate a culture of bacteria and an unpleasant smell in the clothes that we must avoid.

Bonus

The newspaper El País recommends that the fabrics that we should use with our clothes during the pandemic can be poplin, polyester and denim, since these fabrics have better perspiration and allow the body to breathe Correctly.