What if we tell you that coronavirus can live on your clothing? Pretty shocking, right?

According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, while coronavirus is usually transmitted through respiratory droplets, it is also resilient and may remain viable on surfaces made from a variety of materials including clothing.

It is still not clear how long the virus can survive on clothing and fabrics. But the fact that your clothing can hold respiratory droplets is enough to trigger alarming signals. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has even said that viruses can remain active for two to three days on plastic and stainless steel, 24 hours on cardboard and 4 hours on copper.

Buttons and zippers – ring a bell? They’re made of one those materials.

So given this predicament, how would you properly do your Laundry at this time?  We just have the essential guide to help you keep your laundry safe, clean and coronavirus-free.

• Wash in hot water setting.

As you have probably known by now, heat and humidity can affect viral survival. Hence, in order to eliminate the virus, it’s best to use hot water setting every time you’re washing your laundry. Check the recommended water temperature for your clothing pieces and whenever possible, use the hottest setting.

Giving your laundry extra time and heat in the dryer also helps in drying out the droplets, which eventually inactivates the virus.

However, washing your laundry in hot water setting is different from boiling them in hot temperature. You may be killing the virus but you‘re damaging the quality of your clothes. That’s another level of stress you certainly don’t need at this time, right?

• Separate laundry items that come in contact with germs.

Wash your laundry as you normally would with few exceptions on some laundry item that needs to be washed separately such as:

Towels – Shared towels are a breeding ground for germs and viruses so they should be washed often at a high temperature of around 60 degrees Celsius. If there someone in your household who is at risk or self-isolating, make sure that they’re using their own separate towel.

Sportswear – This type of clothing come in contact with bodily fluids, which contain a great number of germs. To protect you from a greater risk of attracting more germs and virus, avoid wearing sportswear more than once between washes.

Baby clothes – Baby clothes are prone to vomit and faeces which are both germ risks. Wash them separately from your other laundry to avoid spreading the germs to your entire family.

• Immediately wash clothes after going outside.

Have you been to a crowded area recently? Are you still required to go to work?

If you are, it’s best to remove your clothes when returning home to block the exposure to coronavirus.  Immediately put your clothing in the washer, especially clothing pieces that come in contact with potentially contaminated surfaces like doorknobs, elevator buttons, and handrails.

You don’t necessarily have to strip down in your garage but the best habit to practice is to store clothes in a separate bag.

But if nobody in your household has gone outside and is not showing any symptoms, you can wash your laundry as you usually do or as necessary.

• If possible, avoid going to the Laundromat.

As not everyone has access to the washing machine, Laundromats provide comfort for doing their laundry.

Generally, it’s still safe to go there as long as the right precautions are taken – wearing gloves on, washing your hands, sanitising, not touching your face and disinfecting the surfaces of the machine.

Additionally, even if your laundry came out of a shared laundry machine, the virus would have been already rid off at 60 degree Celsius temperature.

However, the real issue lies at social distancing and having to potentially interact with contaminated surfaces and people while going to the Laundromat.

If you don’t have access to laundry facilities, you can hand wash your laundry for the time being as long as you get the right temperature setting that will remove the trace of the virus.

• Use a premium laundry powder concentrate.

Laundry powder can’t kill the virus but it can help get rid of the virus off your clothes. During the wash cycle, the agitation from the washing machine will help scrub the virus off while the detergent will remove germs, dirt, impurities and traces of droplets.

With this in mind, it makes sense to choose premium laundry powder concentrate that has the power to remove stubborn dirt and even viruses and does not cause excessive suds.

EUCA Laundry Products to try:

EUCA Concentrated Laundry Liquid – a premium quality laundry liquid with fast-acting premium concentrate, ideal for hot water, and 100% soluble

EUCA Premium Laundry Powder Concentrate Detergent – exceptionally concentrated so you less per measure, has no added fillers, ideal for hot water, and washing machine safe

Bonus tips

• When doing your laundry, wear disposable gloves and dispose of them properly after each use.
• Use reusable gloves only when cleaning and disinfecting the house.
• If no gloves is available in your household, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly when handling dirty laundry and after.
• Avoid shaking your laundry basket or hamper as this will possibly spread the virus through your indoor air.
• Don’t forget to dry your washed laundry in the dryer with high heat.
• Make sure your laundry basket or hamper is also clean, sanitised and disinfected.

But wait, which type of clothing in your laundry do you reckon is more susceptible to coronavirus?

According to Robert Amler at New York Medical College, the duration of how long the virus stays on clothing depends on the kind of fabric. Some fabric clothing is more porous than others so when they catch the virus, the virus dries and breaks apart. On the other hand, germs and viruses tend to stay longer in polyester and spandex-like materials than in cotton-based fabrics. For leathers and similar materials, the virus can be wiped clean by disinfectant spray.

Conclusion

In the age of coronavirus, it’s easy to get stressed out and be consumed by anxiety. We hope we have provided a bit of comfort and peace of mind with our laundry guide above to keep your clothes as clean and as safe as your homes.

At EUCA, we are happy to provide you with laundry products that not only deliver in cleaning power but also in helping the environment. Our products are 100% Australian owned and made with natural products sourced and manufactured locally.

Don’t run out on laundry powder – browse our selection of laundry products at www.eucaonline.com.au and have it safely delivered to your doorsteps.

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