Posted on 10/18/2011 3:44:42 AM PDT by rawhide
The pasta stains might have disappeared — but are your freshly laundered clothes really clean? In our desire to be greener, as well as softer on clothes, many of us are lowering the temperature of our washes.
The maker of Ariel Gel is encouraging consumers to wash at 15c (60F) rather than 40c (104F) in order to halve energy costs. But experts are concerned our bid to save the planet — and money — will affect our health.
For while we associate laundry with cleanliness, some estimates say the average washing machine load contains 100 million E.coli at any one time.
A report by the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene warns that low temperature washing might not be strong enough to kill disease-causing bugs.
Professor Sally Bloomfield, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, wants a campaign to educate consumers in laundry hygiene. ‘We need to launder clothing in a way that renders them not just visually clean, but hygienically clean — the two are not the same,’ she says.
Her concerns are backed by a German study on clothes contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, linked to skin and urinary tract infections, as well as pneumonia. Researchers found the only way to eradicate the bacterium was with temperatures of 40c (104F) and above combined with a detergent containing bleach.
‘If you work with food and put your uniform in with the rest of the family’s dirty laundry, including dirty underwear, it could become infected with e.coli or salmonella — or whatever else is on those clothes,’ says Dr Lisa Ackerley, a consultant in environmental hygiene.
‘In winter, the norovirus (the vomiting bug) could easily spread through a family via the washing machine if you’re not using a high enough temperature wash.’...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I wouldn't worry about line drying. All the way around that's a non-issue, but not having high enough wash temps, especially for towels, sheets and kitchen items, is.
This is patently ridiculous. I have washed clothes in cold water for years with NO problems. It depends on what you add to the water to get them clean.
PS Many of our ancestors used cold water too.
Another issue that I’m having with my front-loader is with adding bleach.
With my top-loader, I’d fill the washer up, add the detergent and bleach, then let it agitate for a few minutes before adding my clothes. That way, the bleach was distributed well and my whites came out uniform.
I did two test loads on dingy whites with my front-loader with the same results: When I let the machine add the bleach, the clothes came out ‘marbled’.
Now, when I do my bleach load once a month, I have to get a bucket, add the bleach and detergent, dip the clothes in the solution, ring them out, place them in the washer, then run the load.
It’s a major PITA!
The next time, I’m getting a more expensive model and I’m hoping that solves the problem.
“The next time, I’m getting a more expensive model and I’m hoping that solves the problem.”
If you look up Consumer Report’s testing at the library I think you’ll find that it doesn’t matter how much money you spend. The problem is low water and “energy efficiency.” Getting clean clothes requires energy.
I’m guessing the reason the clothing comes out marbled is that there is so little water used that the clothing is only being periodically dipped in water. Perhaps you can pre-fill your tub using a hose to force it to contain more water. Or, maybe you could just dump the bucket of detergent and bleach into the tub?
I suspect that the sale of reconditioned pre-Greenie washers and dryers that actually cleaned clothing is going to be a booming business.
Yeah, makes me think someone is trying to sell something by causing more fear and mass hysteria.
There is not a single person on Earth who does not have MORE BUGS in ONE ARMPIT than 1000 loads of washed clothes put together.
I HATE these people! Aren’t there any roads that need garbage pickup? Can’t they go down on the border and keep an eye open? Do something useful?
Jeesh....
Good point. How many bugs can survive the dryer? Probably none. Anyone who ever got sick from their clothes please raise your hand. Nobody? Well alrighty then.
Gotta Say, We have a new energy effecient washer and dryer. Didnt think much about it at the time but many things smell dingy/sour as soon as they get damp when worn. Only bleach seems to help but it has to be diluted and added in occasional measured amoints. Bottom Line: “Energy effecient” usually means “Doesn’t Work”
Cold water and bleach do not kill the bacteria? They’re sure about this?
Ah, yes. Way back in the early 80s, I was branded by my 501s after donning them straight from the dryer. Nowadays, I couldn't wear 501s, they'd have to be 1002s or higher...
And more of our ancestors died ofdisease at an earlier age.
No need for that. Simply put the cold on hot and the hot on cold. Cold on the dial now means hot and hot means mostly cold.
It is not so much the washing machines that are making people sick, as it is the ‘eco-friendly’ rationing schemes. We must suffer so that the planet can prosper.
The oxygen-type bleaches (sodium perborate, sodium percarbonate) such as Clorox 2 also do a great job of killing stuff, especially at higher temperatures, though they’re not usually sold that way.
I dissolve all bleaches in a couple gallons of water and pour that in direct at the appropriate time. Avoids problems.
Nobody’s probably happy to hear it, but ironing with a steam-iron does a dandy job of sterilizing clothing.
“And more of our ancestors died ofdisease at an earlier age.”
But, the VAST majority of such death was NOT due to cold-water laundry.
Use white vinegar in the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. This keeps the dryer in better condition too.
And it costs less.
;-)
We have the old standard Maytag washer, about 15 yrs old.
I’ve repaired it several times and would do just about anything to keep it alive.
Both my daughters have the new style washers and complain all the time about them.
With well water and nat gas heater, I have no qualms about using lots of hot water.
Our water here is pretty alkaline, and doesn't work up the suds without a little help. I use either vineger or lime juice in virtually every load.
I don’t know if this would help, but this is how I use my “new” machine.
I let it partialy fill up, then I add the detergent and bleach, stir it up a bit, then add the clothes. Close the lid and let it finish filling up. I have never had any marbling.
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