How to Disinfect Clothes - 4 Foolproof Methods

How to Disinfect Clothes - 4 Foolproof Methods

Clothes can easily come into contact with germs, bacteria, viruses and fungi, which can be a cause of spreading diseases. It could also be that a family member is ill or has immunodeficiency problems, and needs their clothing to be disinfected to avoid any complications. Although bleach can be useful for disinfecting clothes, it is not always necessary. Generally speaking, you can disinfect clothes properly using hot water and detergent. Keep reading this OneHowTo article to learn how to disinfect clothes at home.

Tips for disinfecting clothes

For clothes that are free of most germs and other harmful microorganisms, (remember that disinfecting is not the same as sterilising, for which you need special machinery) you'll need:

  • A very big pot
  • Chlorine for white and for coloured clothes
  • Powder soap
  • A clothes rinse

Procedure for disinfecting clothing

The classic way of disinfecting clothes at home is to wash clothing with soap powder and, once removed from the washing machine, put into a pot of boiling water for half an hour. Once your clothes are "boiled", you should wash again, but this time on an extensive wash with chlorine and clothes rinse. Remember that there are items that cannot be placed in boiling water. Usually it is only possible to boil towels and bedding without experiencing any deterioration of the fabric. Clothes tend to be easily degradable with water at high temperatures. Also remember that this type of disinfection is for diseases that are not considered to be dangerous (such as as flu or conjunctivitis). If someone in the house has a dangerous disease, the doctor should be consulted in order to carry out a special disinfection that requires special machines and intense treatments with ultraviolet light to kill the microorganisms.

Disinfecting clothes with vinegar

When you think of washing clothes, vinegar does not normally spring to mind. Well, you should know that it is a safe and natural remedy for washing clothes and eliminating may of the difficult stains found on them. If you you add it to the wash cycles, you can then remove the rest of the soap and chemical products that build up in clothes. This keeps colours intact for longer whilst also preventing static electricity. You can also consult this article for more information about how to wash clothes and remove stains using vinegar.

Using specialised detergents: Sanytol

Sanytol is textile disinfectant additive that eliminates 99.9% of germs from clothing. It eliminates bacteria that cause bad odours form clothing, towels, pet bedding, and also leaves a pleasant and lasting perfume. Sanytol eliminates bad odours from clothes by destroying the bacteria that cause them, whilst also sanitising the washing machine. It can be used in all types of fabrics and garments such as sportswear, underwear, household textiles (towels, sheets, tablecloths), baby clothes, textiles that come into contact with pets, clothing worn by ill people... It works at a low temperature, from 20 °C.

Bicarbonate of soda and alcohol

One way of disinfecting clothes is to pre-soak them in hydrogen peroxide. It is a cheap product that we all have at home and that does not damage any type of fabric.

Another cheap and accessible product that disinfects and cleans, is bicarbonate of soda. It does not spoil clothing but adds freshness and removes bad odours.

Additional tips for disinfecting clothes

  • We recommend airing clothing as it is difficult to keep clothes fresh and disinfected if they're left in damp places.
  • Lave them out in the fresh air for at least one whole day.
  • Store clothes in a dry, closed place.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Disinfect Clothes - 4 Foolproof Methods, we recommend you visit our Home cleaning category.