With COVID19 restrictions being eased, it is more important than ever to make sure that your clothes are properly disinfected. These top tips for disinfecting clothing will ensure that your clothes remain clean and that you remain safe. 

• The difference between cleaning and disinfecting 
• Wear gloves
• Use a bleach detergent
• Choose a hot wash
• Dry clothes completely 
• Steam clean your clothes
• Clean your machine
• Disinfect your laundry basket
• Use Laundryheap

The difference between cleaning and disinfecting 

It is not enough to simply clean your clothing, you need to disinfect them. Cleaning your clothes involves removing dirt and germs from the surface of the fabric. Disinfecting your clothes involves using chemicals that guarantee the removal of bacteria, preventing the spread of bacteria to other surfaces. 

Wear gloves 

Before you begin your laundry put on a pair of gloves. Your gloves will protect you from getting any of the bacteria from your clothing onto your hands, therefore limiting the risk of bacteria spreading to other surfaces. Once you have completed your laundry you are safe to remove your gloves and immediately wash your hands.

Use a bleach detergent 

To ensure that your clothes are adequately disinfected it’s best to use bleach detergent. The bleach will denature the protein in any bacteria lingering in your clothing, subsequently killing it. Before using bleach detergent, always check the care label on your clothing as bleach may damage you more delicate items of clothing. 

Choose a hot wash

Washing your clothes at 55-60 degrees will help ensure that your laundry comes out bacteria-free. Hot water makes many detergents more effective at tackling bacteria on clothing, plus the heat of the water aids in deactivating the bacteria. Similarly to when using bleach, always check the care label of your clothing as more delicate items of clothing may become damaged if hot washed. 

Dry clothes completely  

Before you re-wear any freshly washed item of clothing you must make sure that it is completely dry. Bacteria thrive in damp environments, so wet clothing provides the perfect breeding ground for it. To make sure that your clothes are completely dry before re-wearing them, either dry them in the tumble dryer or put them in the dryer for a quick 5-minute blast. The heat from the tumble dryer will warm your clothing and kill off any of the remaining bacteria. 

Steam clean your clothes

If you need to disinfect more delicate items of clothing that can’t withstand a hot wash or bleach detergent, try steam cleaning your clothes. A steam cleaner uses steam to disinfect your clothing, removing bacteria as well as odours. In addition to removing bacteria, steam cleaning also removes wrinkles from your clothes so there is no need to iron them.

Clean your machine 

After using your washing machine to disinfect your clothes it’s important that you disinfect your washing machine. If not cleaned, your washing machine could transfer lingering bacteria from a previous wash onto a fresh load of laundry, resulting in the spread of bacteria. To adequately clean your machine, either insert a dishwasher tablet or 2 cups of white cleaning vinegar into the machines detergent dispenser and set your machine to a hot wash. 

Disinfect your laundry basket 

Similarly to your washing machine, it’s important to disinfect your laundry basket once all of your dirty laundry has been removed from it. The best way to disinfect your laundry basket is to use 0.1% sodium hypochlorite to completely wipe down every surface of your basket. This will leave your laundry basket completely clean and unable to spread bacteria. 

Use Laundryheap

If you want to make sure that you laundry is completely disinfected book you Laundryheap slot now. Our hot wash service will disinfect your clothing, plus our contactless delivery will ensure that both you and our drivers are safely distanced. Book your delivery by visiting the Laundryheap website or by downloading the free Laundryheap app.